Click on the map below to learn more about the impact of state budget cuts in your community.
Western North Carolina region
- Current unemployment rate: 9.4% [ ii ]
- By 2013, projected job loss from budget cuts: 5,113 [ vi ]
Piedmont-Triad region
- Current unemployment rate: 9.2% [ ii ]
- By 2013, projected job loss from budget cuts: 7,318 [ vi ]
Southeast North Carolina region
- Current unemployment rate: 10.1% [ ii ]
- By 2013, projected job loss from budget cuts: 4,261 [ vi ]
Charlotte region
- Current unemployment rate: 9.2% [ ii ]
- By 2013, projected job loss from budget cuts: 7,979 [ vi ]
Eastern North Carolina region
- Current unemployment rate: 9.7% [ ii ]
- By 2013, projected job loss from budget cuts: 4,156 [ vi ]
Research Triangle region
- Current unemployment rate: 7.8% [ ii ]
- By 2013, projected job loss from budget cuts: 9,242 [ vi ]
Counties: Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, Cumberland, Hoke, New Hanover, Pender, Richmond, Robeson, Sampson, Scotland
- As a direct result of state budget cuts, more than 264 K-12 teaching positions have been eliminated in Southeastern NC, and a total of 1,753 school-related jobs have been lost in the region. [1]
- Robeson County Schools laid off more than 40% of their teacher assistants and slashed a total of 235 jobs. The county lost nearly $10.5 million in state funds for 2011-2012 compared to the previous year. Erica Setzer, chief finance officer for the school system, notes the depth of cuts from this budget compared to prior years: “This is the first year we haven’t been able to bring everybody back.” [2]
- In Cumberland County, the public school system has been coping with the loss of 385 positions by reducing services for students. [3] The Exceptional Children’s Services program, designed to assist special needs children, has lost 44 teachers and 51 teaching assistants [4], and some students will have longer rides to school because the county has reduced its bus fleet by 20. [5]
- Some counties have dealt with the severe budget cuts by shifting the financial burden from the state to their own employees. Bladen County Schools cut 21 teacher positions [6], but largely avoided layoffs by cutting all school employee supplements in half. [7]
- The loss of state funds has also had a dramatic effect on university students in Southeast NC. UNC-Pembroke officials report that more than 500 students did not return to classes this fall because they could not afford their increased tuition and because the state is offering financial aid to an estimated 5,500 fewer students this year. Increased expenses and the decrease in available student loans forced Ashley Wilson to drop out of UNC-Charlotte and move in with her parents to continue her education at UNC-Pembroke: “I couldn’t afford it. I wasn’t getting enough financial aid. I loved that school.” [8]
- Not only are funds being cut at universities – so is the quality of education. Students at Fayetteville State University have fewer course options and larger class sizes this year as a result of the loss of 52 faculty positions. Some must now commute to UNC-Pembroke to have access to courses they will need to graduate on schedule. [9]
- At 10.8%, the unemployment rate in Southeast NC is the highest among the state’s 7 economic development regions. [10] The Fayetteville metro area lost 2,700 public-sector jobs as a result of budget cuts, and the elimination of government positions has contributed to high unemployment rates across the country. [11]
- [1] Department of Public Instruction – August 31st, 2011 ↩
- [2] The Robesonian – July, 2011 ↩
- [3] Fayetteville Observer – August 24th, 2011 ↩
- [4] Fayetteville Observer – August 21st, 2011 ↩
- [5] Fayetteville Observer – September 29th, 2011 ↩
- [6] Department of Public Instruction – August 31st, 2011 ↩
- [7] WECT – July 11th, 2011 ↩
- [8] News & Observer – October 9th, 2011 ↩
- [9] Fayetteville Observer – September 23rd, 2011 ↩
- [10] NC Employment Security Commission – September, 2011 ↩
- [11] Fayetteville Observer – August 27th, 2011 ↩
These cuts were not inevitable but a choice. By maintaining the temporary tax package, which included the penny sales tax and a surcharge on high-income earners, or looking at reform-minded revenue, lawmakers could have avoided many of these deep and wide-ranging cuts.
Sources:
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