State Superintendent June Atkinson sounds off on education funding and cuts
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- The state's top educator is lobbying lawmakers to avoid cuts to education.
On Wednesday, North Carolina State School Superintendent Dr. June Atkinson sent a letter to members of the House -- pleading with them not to accept the state Senate's version of the proposed budget. She says there will be a trickle effect in the classroom.
"The day is gone; we are no longer in the 1950s. With all the demands these teachers have in the classroom, they cannot be the butcher the baker the candlestick maker," Atkinson said.
Atkinson says the state Senate's budget will cut staff by 30-percent in the Department of Public Instruction, and many say the department helps teachers be more effective in the classroom.
The chairman of the North Carolina State Board of Education, Bill Cobey, says the upkeep of the Home Base computer system is one example. Among many things, it helps teachers access new resources and keeps students up to date on their progress.
"Pretty much every other area that's necessary to do a great job of teaching our students we've gotten most of it through Home Base this year," Cobey.
Educational leaders from districts all over North Carolina were also at Wednesday's meeting.
In one district that handles a high number of students with disabilities, they say the DPI plays a key role in how they teach.
"There are four areas we really look to DPI for -- one is research. We cannot read all the research about all the disabilities, and all the syndromes that we deal with. There are literally thousands of them," Cobey said.
Atkinson says it's that kind of support classrooms across the state should not do without and says since since 2009, real classroom funding has dropped $1.3 billion.
The Senate's proposed budget also eliminates money for 7,400 teaching assistants.
Wednesday morning, Gov. Pat McCrory said he was not happy with the loss of teaching assistants, and said there was a lot of work ahead for a compromise in the budget.
