Senate Bill 236- Counties Responsible for School Construction
Senator Andrew Brock included Davie County as one of only nine counties in this bill. The three districts Senator Brock represents were originally included: Davie, Iredell, and Rowan. Senator Brock agreed to allow amendments proposed by senators from Cabarrus and Iredell counties to remove Iredell County Schools, Mooresville Graded Schools, and Kannapolis City Schools from being affected by this bill. Those amendments were approved in committee. A request to remove Davie from this bill was denied by Senator Brock and the bill passed the full Senate on May 15, 2013. The bill has now been passed over to the NC House and has been assigned to the Committee on Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House. If this bill becomes law, ownership and responsibility of all school buildings can be turned over to Boards of County Commissioners if commissioners pass a resolution. Representative Julia Howard has an opportunity to remove Davie County from this bill if it comes up for consideration. If this bill is assigned to a committee by the Rules Committee to be debated, we will send out a notice. In the meantime, if you have concerns about this bill, you may contact Representative Julia Howard's office at 919-733-5904 or email Julia.Howard@ncleg.net, and Senator Andrew Brock at 919-715-0690 or email Andrew.Brock@ncleg.net.
House Bill 944: Opportunity Scholarships - Vouchers/Tax Credits
This bill would allocate $90 million in vouchers or "scholarship grants" over the next two years for eligible students to attend any non-public school. This bill will be heard in the House Committee on Education on Tuesday, May 21 at 10:00 AM. Click here for a list of House Education Committee members:
The Co-Chairs of the Education Committee are Representative Linda Johnson 919-733-5861, Linda.Johnson2@ncleg.net, and Representative James Langdon 919-733-5849, James.Langdon@ncleg.net
Senate Budget
The North Carolina Senate released its version of the state budget on Sunday afternoon.We will hear more this week about the details of the Senate budget proposal. The NC House will release a budget later this month or early in June. The House and Senate will then assign a committee to work together to develop a final budget. We have serious concerns about preliminary information related to the Senate's budget proposal, including the elimination of teacher assistants in second and third grade. We are hopeful that the NC House will negotiate the restoration of funding for teacher assistants! More information to come, as we are far from a final state budget.
