Senate GOP Leader Takes AIM at Wake School Board | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: This post appears here courtesy of the Carolina Journal, and written by CJ Staff.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Brown, R-Onslow, speaks after a 2019 committee meeting. (CJ photo by Don Carrington).

    The N.C. Senate majority leader is rebutting claims from the Wake County school board that state government is underfunding North Carolina's largest school system.

    "The Wake County School Board is masking its own lack of discipline with the discredited and lazy accusation that the state legislature isn't giving them enough money," said Sen. Harry Brown, R-Onslow, in a prepared statement. "They had 42 new students and received 47 million extra dollars last school year. The unfortunate residents that this school board is trying to tax into oblivion deserve to know just what exactly Wake County is spending all this money on."

    In addition to leading the Senate Republican caucus, Brown co-chairs the chamber's budget-writing Appropriations Committee.

    A news release from Senate Republicans carries the following headline: "Don't Be Fooled: State Funding for Wake County Schools Is Highest Ever."

Wake County School Funding Totals
    The release focuses on Wake school board members' complaints that low state funding levels prompted them to seek increased local funding that requires a tax increase.

    "The Wake County School Board, controlled by Democrats, blamed the Republican N.C. General Assembly for 'underfunding' schools in the county in an attempt to justify a massive tax hike proposed for Wake County residents," according to the Senate news release.

    "This year's state funding allocation to Wake County is the highest in history at nearly $1 billion," the release continues. "Wake County's public school enrollment increased by 42 students last school year, while state funding for the county's schools increased by $47 million. That comes out to $1.1 million for each additional student last school year."

    GOP Senate leaders also contrast Wake County's fiscal management to recent action from the General Assembly. "The Wake County Commission is considering a massive 10 percent property tax hike, in part because of the undisciplined Wake County School Board," according to the release. "By contrast, the N.C. General Assembly has cut taxes and still managed to invest more in education - including Wake County schools - than any time in the history of the state."

    The Wake County manager's proposed budget includes a 6.36-cent property tax increase. That would raise the rate by almost 10 percent. With a new rate of 71.8 cents per $100 of assessed property value, the owner of a $300,000 house would see his county property tax bill increase by $191 to $2,154.

    The release features a chart (above right) of state government allocation of money to the Wake County public schools. The information comes from the General Assembly's nonpartisan Fiscal Research Division. "This year's allocation of nearly $1 billion is 40 percent higher than the last year of Democratic control in the legislature, and 31 percent higher than the largest allocation under Democratic control," according to the news release.
Go Back


Leave a Guest Comment

Your Name or Alias
Your Email Address ( your email address will not be published)
Enter Your Comment ( no code or urls allowed, text only please )




What Are You Scared Of? Carolina Journal, Editorials, Op-Ed & Politics North Carolina Businessman, Garland Tucker, to Challenge Thom Tillis for U.S. Senate


HbAD0

Latest Op-Ed & Politics

Be careful what you wish for, you may get it
America needs to wake up and get its priorities right
Former President Donald Trump suggested this week that if he becomes president again, he might allow Prince Harry to be deported.
It's a New Year, which means it's time to make resolutions — even for prominent evangelical leaders. The Babylon Bee asked the following well-known figures in the faith what they hope to accomplish in 2024:
Vice President Kamala Harris will visit a Minnesota Planned Parenthood clinic, reportedly the first time a president or vice president has visited an abortion facility.
An eight-mile stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville has been temporarily closed due to a string of “human and bear interactions,” the National Parks Service announced.

HbAD1

University of Wisconsin tried to punish conservatives for the fact that liberals regularly commit crimes to silence opposition
most voters think EU officials not doing a good job on illegal immigration
Come from behind by GOP candidate is a blueprint to 2024
Biden spending and energy policies to blame
Tuberculosis carried by illegal invaders has already infected Texas cattle

HbAD2

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said this week that the only campaign promise President Joe Biden has delivered on as president is the complete dismantling of the U.S. southern border.

HbAD3

 
Back to Top