Lowering the Unemployment Rate | Eastern North Carolina Now

Press Release:

    When Republicans took control of the legislature in January 2011, North Carolina's economy was strug­gling, the unemployment rate was 10.4%, citizens and businesses were burdened with a 1930s Depression-era tax code, and the state owed the federal government $2.5 billion.

    Three years later, our state looks vastly different. The December unemployment data shows North Carolina's unemployment rate has dropped nearly four points. This is the first time in over five years - since September 2008 - that our unemployment rate has fall­en below 7%.

    Even more encouraging, North Carolina has added over 167,000 jobs since January 2011. And the Gen­eral Assembly has put the state on course to completely pay off our $2.5 billion debt to the federal government by 2016.

    These facts are a true testament to the resolve of the citizens of this great state. As the legislature continues to reform our tax code, reduce taxes and pay off debts accrued by previous leaders, we expect to see the state continue to thrive and many more jobs added to North Carolina's economy.

    There's no question that teaching our kids to read is the single most im­portant thing we must do to prepare them for high school, college and a successful career. But for too long, an alarming number of North Carolina children have struggled to read at grade level.

    One out of every three fourth graders is reading below the basic level, and research shows children who leave third grade unable to read are on a path to academic failure and life-long economic hardship. Advancing kids who can't read into fourth grade has not solved the problem before, and it is not a solution now.

    That's why the General Assembly passed Read to Achieve in 2012. This law aims to ensure that every third grader can read before they graduate to the fourth grade. The law also provides state-funding for reading camps to help children struggling in the classroom.

    However, lawmakers have heard concerns from educators and parents about many more kids having to attend the camps and complete optional assessments than the legislature intended.

    In a legislative meeting, State Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson said initial reports that three quarters of third grade students will have to attend remedial reading camps or complete a series of tests for a reading portfolio as a part of the Read to Achieve program are incorrect. Instead, she said the number of third grade students who need this support is closer to 20 percent.

    The fact of the matter is: the unnecessary steps DPI has advised are not re­quired by state law. The extra help should  -  and must  -  go to those students who truly need it. The Senate will continue to work to ensure that the im­plementation of Read to Achieve remains in-line with the original intent of the law.

    President Pro Tempore Senator Phil Berger

    2007 Legislative Building
    Raleigh, N.C. 27601

    (919) 733-5708


    Contacts:

     Amy Auth, (919) 301-1737  •  Shelly Carver (919) 301-1744