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: 10.8% [ ii ]
- By 2013, projected job loss from budget cuts: 5,113 [ vi ]
Piedmont-Triad region
- Current unemployment rate: 10.1% [ ii ]
- By 2013, projected job loss from budget cuts: 7,318 [ vi ]
Southeast North Carolina region
- Current unemployment rate: 11.2% [ ii ]
- By 2013, projected job loss from budget cuts: 4,261 [ vi ]
Charlotte region
- Current unemployment rate: 10.3% [ ii ]
- By 2013, projected job loss from budget cuts: 7,979 [ vi ]
Eastern North Carolina region
- Current unemployment rate: 10.6% [ ii ]
- By 2013, projected job loss from budget cuts: 4,156 [ vi ]
Research Triangle region
- Current unemployment rate: 8.6% [ ii ]
- By 2013, projected job loss from budget cuts: 9,242 [ vi ]
Counties: Alexander, Anson, Cabarrus, Catawba, Cleveland, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Rowan, Stanly, Union
- As a direct result of state budget cuts, 310 K-12 teaching positions have been eliminated in the Greater Charlotte region, and a total of 5,137 school-related jobs have been cut. [1]
- Budget-writers in Raleigh claim that they funded every teacher and teacher assistant position in the state with this budget [2], but what they have actually done is reduce funding for Local Education Agencies across the state, who are then given the unenviable task of laying off employees at the local level. Union County Schools were forced to make $13.5 million in discretionary cuts, which resulted in the loss of 28 teaching positions and 40 teacher assistants. [3] “We have whittled and whittled. We’ve done everything we can to protect the classroom. We’re down to the point where we’re going to hit the classroom really hard this year,” says Ed Davis, Superintendent of Union County Public Schools. [4]
- Students across the state returned to schools this fall to find fewer adults present and some core services reduced or eliminated. Kannapolis City Schools cut more than 62 jobs [5], and nearby Rowan County has considered cutbacks in technology, textbooks, staff development, and may begin charging as much as $45 per student to continue the county’s driver’s education program. [6]
- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools have slashed 16 security positions because of budget cuts. As a result, 9 middle schools in the district will not have full time security, which worries Lauren Ponder, whose son attends one of the affected schools: “It does concern me because the way children are going these days and the way things are happening, they need that enforcement.” [7]
- In Salisbury, there are 11 nurses to serve 35 schools – that’s 1 nurse for every 1,800 students. The American Academy for Pediatrics recommends 1 nurse per 750 students. The town has fewer nurses this year because of budget cuts, and the shortage is keeping those still employed by the school system too busy with the day to day needs of students to focus on things like preventative education. Schools have seen a drastic increase in the number of students with chronic illnesses like diabetes and asthma in recent years. According to Salisbury Schools Superintendent, Dr. Judy Grissom: “The challenge for our district is that the medical problems for students have increased while at the same time funds have decreased.” [8]
- Facing a 20% budget cut, the Iredell County Partnership for Young Children has been forced to close two offices – 1 of 2 in Statesville, and their sole Mooresville location. The organization oversees the county’s NC Pre-K services and provides child care training for hundreds of local families. The closures mean that hundreds of children will lose access to the group’s services, and 7 staffers also lost their jobs. [9]
- UNC-Charlotte is facing a wide range of problems after losing $33.5 million in state funding for the 2011-2012 school year. The university has slashed 295 jobs, including 171 faculty positions, but students are dealing with larger class sizes, less course offerings, and some may be forced to delay completion of their degrees. Compounding the problems the university faces is the fact that financial aid has also been slashed by $8.5 million. “I’ve never seen financial aid cut so dramatically in 23 years of being involved with it,” says student financial aid director Tony Carter. “Unfortunately it hits our neediest students. We have students who are receiving anywhere from $1,000 to $4,000 less than what they got last year.” [10]
- [1] Department of Public Instruction – August 31st, 2011 ↩
- [2] News & Observer – September 23rd, 2011 ↩
- [3] Department of Public Instruction – August 31st, 2011 ↩
- [4] Charlotte Observer – October 1st, 2011 ↩
- [5] Department of Public Instruction – August 31st, 2011 ↩
- [6] Salisbury Post – June 16th, 2011 ↩
- [7] WCNC – August 19th, 2011 ↩
- [8] Salisbury Post – September 18th, 2011 ↩
- [9] Mooresville Tribune – July 4th, 2011 ↩
- [10] Charlotte Observer – August 22nd, 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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