The commitment to improve public education must continue every day for every child in New Hanover County. As a member of the Senate Education Committee, Sen. Goolsby ensures your tax dollars fund classrooms and not a wasteful bureaucracy.
Sen. Goolsby is an advocate for charter schools and homeschooling and believes competition benefits our children’s learning environment. He protects the rights of special needs students to reach their potential and supports the requirement that Pre-K funding help low income families first.
Modest cuts to education funding were necessary to make a $70 million interest payment on federal debt and balance the budget. Between Sept. 2010 and Sept. 2011 the state lost 964 teachers, a net 1.0% reduction. Republicans cut per-pupil spending by a slim 1.5%, or $71 per-pupil. Twenty-eight states decreased K-12 funding by a larger percentage and dollar amount. (Center for Budget and Policy Priorities)
Cuts to higher education were more substantial at $414 million, but Sen. Goolsby opposes in-state tuition hikes proposed by university presidents and administrators. The UNC system is a model for unfettered government spending despite a sputtering economy and an average debt of $21,000 for students with loans. Universities should absorb these cuts and eliminate unnescesary administrative positions, student services and non-priority academic programs to refocus funds around instruction and research.
University officials instead hope to retain lost funding through their customers with painful cost increases. The UNC Board of Governors approved a staggering in-state tuition hike of 40% over a 5 year period despite the increasing default rate on student loans and high unemployment. UNC President Tom Ross capped tuition hikes at 10% systemwide, but the board’s willingness to approve such a plan is alarming.
