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May 12, 2010
CTE Business Partners;
It seems that every year at this time we are forced to "Rally the Troops" to make our plea to the legislators and policy makers in Raleigh for support of Career and Technical Education and in the past we have been successful in our efforts. We have strong suppport in the General Assembly for CTE, but we must continue our fight this year. As you may be aware, the Governor's proposed budget calls for a $ 54.6 million cut to CTE teachers, with a proposal to offset this with federal Stimulus funds. In theory, this sounds good, but what you need to know is that the Stimulus funds are not tied to CTE. These funds will be at the discretion of the local superintendents to use as they wish to offset other cuts. If they have other priorities, these funds can be spent for other initiatives.
Furthermore, local school systems are also expected to reduce their budgets by $135 million in "Discretionary Cuts" - so we (CTE) are targeted with these cuts as well. Separately these cuts can have a major impact on our programs and our staff, but together it could be devastating! Please note the following exerpt from a recent Legislative Newsletter from NCACTE lobbyist, Dave Simpson: What the Governor’s Budget Plan Means for CTE: Aaron Fleming, chair of NCACTE’s Legislative Committee, notes: As you may have heard or read, the Governor's budget (released this Tuesday) includes a $54,658,931 cut to state Career and Technical Education funding. While the budget proposal states that these cuts should offset using federal stimulus/recovery funds, it is at the discretion of the local Superintendents. While NCACTE is still investigating the impact to local CTE programs, you are advised to contact your state legislators and refer them to page 47 of Governor Beverly Perdue's budget proposal, where it says:
"Education Stabilization Fund - Career and Technical Education (CTE) This adjustment temporarily reduces the CTE allotment by $54.6 million nonrecurring to meet the allocation requirements of the Education Stabilization Fund (ESF). This reduction will be offset dollar for dollar by the appropriation of the federal Education Stabilization Fund (ESF). The ESF will be distributed via the State's primary funding formulae. Appropriation - Nonrecurring ($54,658,931)"Education Stabilization Fund - Career and Technical Education. No matter how positive the spin may be placed on this line item, CTE funding is at risk of being lost. It appears that Superintendents who have priorities other than CTE may use this additional source of federal ESF funds to hire other school system teachers or staff in areas other than CTE. Another source of concern is that the Governor’s budget includes a $135 million cut in discretionary funds, another item that could hurt CTE funding in the LEAs. Urge your legislators not to include this cut in the budget amendment process – or at least provide language that would restrict this funding for CTE. Let them know that though the Governor has asked that federal recovery funds replace the loss of CTE funding and that, as written, this may not happen in all school systems. At a time when Career and Technical Education is needed more than ever to assist in turning the economy around and reducing the dropout rate, this is not the time to cut a proven and excellent educational program. Also, our State Superintendent June Atkinson recently released the final report of the Career-Ready Commission, our Lt. Governor Walter Dalton is leading the efforts of the JOBS Commission and Governor Perdue is asking for support of her "Ready-Set-Go" Educational Initiative for Career and College Ready Students. How can reducing CTE funding assist in promoting the work of these excellent groups and platforms?
As stakeholders for CTE, we are asking for your help in making our voice heard loud and clear in the General Assembly that CTE funds must be protected. We are asking that you please contact your state house member and state senator and urge them to NOT support the Governor's proposed $55 million cut to CTE funding. Last year, CTE was spared in the wake of large cuts to public schools and it is to be expected that we have to absorb our share of cuts this year, but we should not have to be the sacrificial lamb. We are team players and understand the dilemma of limited resources, but CTE is the “Proven” means of dropout prevention, as well as providing relevance for ALL education.
Thank you so much for your continued support and efforts on behalf of CTE. Sincerely,
Daryle Nobles
If you have an opinion on this topic, please go to our blog at: http://ncacteabusinessnetwork.blogspot.com/.
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