“Governor Pat McCrory spoke to the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce this morning and repeated misinformation circulated earlier in the week by the John Locke Foundation and Civitas Institute, two political special interest groups founded by the governor’s budget director Art Pope.
In his remarks, the first term governor claimed North Carolina’s public schools received the largest appropriation in North Carolina history in the budget he approved, although the budget numbers actually reveal a cut to public schools ranging from 1.5%-2.9% depending on calculations, cuts Republican House budget chairs acknowledged on the House floor last week during debate.
“A public claim that money was added to North Carolina public schools is plain and simple a falsehood,” said NCAE President Rodney Ellis. “One only needs to look through the budget – the entire budget and not just select money reports – and the cuts to classrooms are clear.”
Governor McCrory also claims that increased Medicaid expenses prevented the state from funding additional salary increases for teachers, performance bonuses, or for encouraging educators to seek a masters or doctorate degrees in their fields of study. McCrory made no mention this morning of his authorization of a tax reform bill that cost the state $600 million in revenue and supported a $50 million voucher plan.”
