State Budget Overview | Eastern NC Now

    Publisher's note: The author of this post is Sarah Curry and, http://www.johnlocke.org/research/bio/216, who are Directors for the John Locke Foundation.

Teacher compensation and Medicaid drive the 2014-15 budget

    For fiscal year 2014-15, North Carolina's General Fund budget rose 2.2 percent to $21.1 billion.

    The budget funded an average teacher salary increase of 7 percent, one of the largest pay raises for North Carolina teachers in a generation.

    It added $840,000 to the state's Opportunity Scholarship Program, enough to fund 400 additional private school scholarships for low-income children.

    The legislation removed the 'continuation budget' from the State Budget Act and replaced it with the 'base budget,' which is based upon actual spending levels. This will provide a more accurate starting point for budget officers in future years.

    Medicaid spending accounted for 18 percent of the total General Fund and 72 percent of the Health and Human Services' General Fund budget.

    A backlog of unpaid claims and enrollment growth caused uncertainty within the Medicaid budget. A Medicaid contingency fund of $186.4 million was created for any unexpected shortfalls.

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