RALEIGH – Gov. Mike Easley on Thursday released his $20 billion budget recommendation to the General Assembly, which calls for a new $150 million scholarship grant as well as a special bond election for university projects.
The budget also increases spending on on-line education programs offered through the University of North Carolina and the North Carolina Community College System.
Easley presented his budget at a press conference in Raleigh. Officials from his administration will meet with legislators Tuesday morning to discuss further details of his budget proposal.
In all, total education spending is $11.6 billion, a 7.8 percent increase from the current fiscal year. UNC’s budget appropriation is $2.63 billion, an 11.3 percent increase, Easley said. Community Colleges received an appropriation of $915 million in Easley’s budget.
“This budget keeps education as our No. 1 priority,” Easley said. “My goal is to create a seamless education system that provides opportunities for citizens from pre-K through community colleges and our universities. Our education system must meet the needs of all our citizens, whether they are just starting out in school or returning to learn new skills to meet the demands of our global economy.”
Easley followed through with his promise in the State of the State Address Monday to create a scholarship plan for low- to middle-income students. The budget proposal recommends spending $150 million during the biennium on the new EARN (Education Access Rewards North Carolina) scholarship initiative. According to Easley, it would allow students to earn a debt-free education.
The EARN scholarship would provide a two-year grant to students families that are 200 percent or below of the poverty level to finish their college education. To achieve a tuition-free education, the program assumes that students would graduate high school with an associate’s degree through the state’s Learn and Earn program.
Easley’s budget estimates that 25,000 students could quality for the program. Students who participate in the plan would be required to work 10 hours a week.
“This plan is not a free lunch,” Easley said on Monday. “You have to earn it.”
Easley’s budget plan also calls for $1.6 billion in capital improvements, which could be part of a bond referendum in November. The General Assembly would have to approve placing the bond on the November ballot, according to Dan Gerlach, Gov. Easley’s senior policy advisor for fiscal affairs. UNC construction projects comprise $487 million of the $1.6 billion and involve 12 of the 16 campuses. Included in the projects is $87 million for construction of a School of Dentistry at East Carolina University. The UNC Board of Governors approved creating a School of Dentistry at ECU in November.
Gerlach said priority was given to projects that are ready to start and are the school’s top priorities.
“We’ve got to finish the stuff we’ve already started first,” Gerlach said.
Construction money for the community colleges was not included in the bond package, because responsibility lies with the counties to provide for community college facilities needs. However, Easley did provide funding to increase online education offerings through the community colleges, as well as the UNC system.
Easley seeks more than $6 million in online education programs through the community college system, including $3.8 million to improve data connectivity available to facilitate online courses sharing with the UNC system. He also seeks $2 million for the University of North Carolina Online project, which would create a one-stop access point for UNC online course offerings.
Easley’s budget also increases funding for workforce development offerings through the community college system.
In an email statement, North Carolina Community College System President Martin Lancaster said he was pleased with Easley’s recommendations.
“I applaud the governor for making community colleges a high priority among the many competing fiscal needs of the state,” Lancaster said. “I believe that the governor recognizes and appreciates the important role that we place in higher education in preparing North Carolina’s workforce, and in delivering anytime-anywhere learning at a reasonable cost.”