For a different view on the state budget than the Democrats on the Wake County school board, let's look at what the Wake County Republican Party is saying.
In this week's issue of the Elephant Express, Wake GOP Chairwoman Susan Bryant defends the General Assembly's budget while ripping into Democrats, Gov. Bev Perdue and The News & Observer.
"This budget is no attack on education," Bryant writes about Perdue's complaints. "The Republican legislature worked very hard and produced a budget that fully funds all teachers and teachers’ assistants — and even adds teachers in Grades 1–3. They didn’t cut education…they cut the 'temporary sales tax' you put into effect over a year ago.
Miss Beverly, you told the voters it was a temporary tax and would go away this year. Not if you had your way, it wouldn’t. You ought to thank our valiant Republican legislators, Miss B. They not only kept their promises, they kept yours!"
Bryant links the GOP majorities in the General Assembly, the Wake school board and the Wake board of commissioners. She says all three did what they promised to do during the election.
"We are proud of the Republicans on the Wake County School Board, the Republicans on the Wake County Board of Commissioners, the Republicans in various municipal offices and the Republicans in the State Legislature," Bryant writes. "Do not believe the garbage in the newspaper and in the media. We are doing the right things!"
Comments
Garbage is what Susan Bryant spews...
Mon, 06/13/2011 - 14:50 — bpuli9999There have been no cuts in education budgets? Looks like WCPSS BOE and staff have missed that memo.
What a sycophantic moron.
Whose payroll????
Sat, 06/11/2011 - 22:51 — youthinksoIs Bryant on Tillis' payroll also? Bryant writes. "Do not believe the garbage in the newspaper and in the media. We are doing the right things!"
Really?
Yea Susan! Boo Bev!
Sat, 06/11/2011 - 19:05 — dave36It is amazing how blatantly the liberals lie. Thank you, Susan Bryant, for setting the record straight!
Its amazing
Sun, 06/12/2011 - 09:58 — realisticHow you'll take Susan Bryant's word for it. Go ask a principal how many TA's they are forced to RIF. My elementary school is losing four, and a custodian.
...
Sun, 06/12/2011 - 13:47 — SideburnsI wonder about the allotment for custodians. I had read a document that Enloe had funding for something like 19 custodians -- while a high school like Athens had only 4 or 5.
Also, from what I understand, some schools apparently outsource custodial services while others use WCPSS custodians.
How many custodians are/were at your elementary school before this cut? Does your school outsource or use WCPSS custodians?
Four TA's and a custodian?
Sun, 06/12/2011 - 10:22 — woodstockFour TA's and a custodian? Why am I not upset by this? We are in the midst of the worst economic times since the Great Depression and budgets are tight everywhere. I think we are extremely fortunate that we have legislators that value education and that things are not far worse.
So...
Sun, 06/12/2011 - 11:11 — Bob_SconceThus the need to prioritize. $28M for light-rail transit in Charlotte is not a priority for me; is it for you? If our legislators truly valued education, they'd shift that $28M into schools instead of an absurd boondoggle.
How about adding 5 extra days to the school year, without adding additional funding to pay for the costs imposed? Do Republicans think that unfunded mandates are only bad when they come from the feds, but they're ok when they come from the state?
If the GOP really wanted to help education, they could have done this: drop the 5 extra days and just push EOGs to the last week of the school year. After all, it's widely known that very little happens in school after EOGs.
We are certainly fortunate that things are not worse. After all, the original Senate budget had cut a lot more from K12 education than the budget they eventually passed. But, it's clear that the GOP doesn't value education as much as they claim to.
Hmm, you must understand
Sun, 06/12/2011 - 11:48 — woodstockHmm, you must understand that politics is a process of leadership coupled with compromise. You may recall that the 5 extra days to the school year -- whatever merits that may provide -- seemed to come about the same time 5 Democrats chose to vote with the Republicans to produce a veto-proof budget. I suspect this was a result of a compromise. The 5 extra days may not be a horrible idea, but considering the budget challenges, it certainly is untimely... that I will acknowledge.
You also seem to forget that much more significant cuts impacted other areas in our bloated government, education was mostly spared any drastic cuts, so to suggest the GOP does not value education or view it as a priority is enormously disingenuous and, frankly, inaccurate.
Remember, we are dealing with a very severe economic crises in this country and in our State that is as bad and anything anyone still living has experienced in their lifetime. And, unlike previous recessions, we do not see the signals of the recovery that typically follow.
And that is why
Sun, 06/12/2011 - 12:54 — Solon77And that is why Tata wants to add another layer of administration. I wonder why the BOE did not sent a thank you letter to Obama to thank him for reach for the top $ - without it the district would be in a greater state of hurt. The Republicans could have extended the sales tax, I wonder what lifestyle impact and how many jobs the elimination of the tax will create ?
So...
Sun, 06/12/2011 - 13:43 — Bob_SconceThe problem with that analysis is that you can look and say "how many additional workers would have been employed by the state if the tax had been enacted," and computing that number is relatively easy. But, what you can't easily compute is the number of additional jobs from dropping the tax. Since it's not easily computable, most people ignore it entirely, but that's wrong. Effectively, they act like the sale tax is free. If that's true, then why not push to increase it by an additional 1%? And if 1% is free, then so's 2%, and 3%.
In any case, you don't measure prosperity by how many people are employed -- that's the Keynsian mistake. During WWII, lots of people were employed, but there were shortages of just about every good you'd want. That's hardly an economy I'd want to live in. You have to look at what those people are employed to DO, and measure the amount of economic surplus generated by that activity. Sales taxes reduce the economic surplus and, on the margin, cause some sales not to happen.
Let me add on more level of
Mon, 06/13/2011 - 08:22 — shearertwLet me add on more level of explanation so Solon can understand.
If I spend $10 on a t-shirt, I may not notice the extra 10 cents I just paid due to a 1% sales tax. However, after I've spent $1000, I'll have $10 less in my checking account due to the 1% tax and may decide not to purchase that t-shirt or not have the money available even if I wanted to. Multiply that times 10's of thousands of people over the course of a year and you're talking about a lot of t-shirts. A 1% sales tax has a serious impact on our economy, especially if it's not offset by a decrease in taxes elsewhere. I'd actually prefer if they'd leave the sales tax in place and lower the income tax rates to offset it.
Except...
Sat, 06/11/2011 - 19:40 — Bob_SconceThey did "cut education." Ask Tony Tata if he'd be happier with last year's budget or this year's.