27 May

Judge orders hearing on budget cuts to schools

Posted by Emma Kincaid in Education Master | Tags :Cuts, Cuts Schools |

RALEIGH (MCT) — In a move that could complicate the already tense state budget negotiations in Raleigh, a judge has ordered a court hearing about whether proposed school cuts would compromise children’s constitutional right to a quality education.

Wake County Superior Court Judge Howard E. Manning Jr. issued an order for a hearing June 22 at the Wake County Courthouse.

In the order, Manning wrote that despite the difficult economic environment, the state still has to meet the needs of all children.

“The financial crisis notwithstanding, the basic educational assets guaranteed to each and every child in the North Carolina Public Schools must remain in place in every school and classroom in the State of North Carolina,” Manning wrote in his May 20 order.

The order is a response to a May 10 motion filed by plaintiffs, the Hoke County Board of Education and the Asheville City Board of Education, against the state and the State Board of Education. Cited in the motion is the state’s move to curtail preschool programs for at-risk children and eliminate end-of-course tests for high school students.

The hearing is the latest development related to a landmark school finance lawsuit known as Leandro. The suit, brought by plaintiffs in low-wealth rural counties, led to two Supreme Court rulings that the state constitution guarantees every child in North Carolina an opportunity to “a sound basic education” in public schools. The decision was interpreted to mean that all children have a right to a certified, well-trained teacher in a school with a competent principal and the resources to meet their educational needs.

Manning, who has presided over the case that dates to the 1990s, could not be reached.

The order puts the judge at odds with his fellow Republicans, who control the legislature and who propose sizable cuts to education as the state grapples with a $2.5 billion budget shortfall.

This week, the state Senate could vote on a budget proposal that would cut spending on K-12 education by nearly $700 million, or 8.8 percent, eliminating thousands of school jobs. Gov. Bev Perdue, who proposed a 3.9 percent reduction in state funding to schools, has said the Republican plans would put North Carolina nearly last in the country in per-pupil spending.

As negotiations continue, Manning’s court hearing could further snarl the process.

Senate leader Phil Berger, an Eden Republican, said he hadn’t read the order and couldn’t comment in detail.

“I have something of a problem with judges assuming or attempting to assume the role of legislators,” Berger said. “I would hope that that’s not what he’s trying to do.”

Berger said the Senate budget plan, which would add teacher positions even as it cuts other staff, would live up to the constitutional mandate.

“The legislature is as serious as anyone about complying with the requirements that the constitution has on the state and state government with reference to the provision of educational opportunity,” he said.

John Tate, a Charlotte banker and member of the State Board of Education, said he welcomes Manning’s review.

“The objective before us all is to work for a sound, basic education for all kids in the state,” he said. “We’re working as hard as we can now, and we’re not doing the job we should. To strip resources is not helping things at all.”

Tate said the issue is not just the current budget but reductions that have worsened classroom conditions. “We’re in the third year of serious cuts,” he said. “It’s not good for kids.”

Manning’s order is not the first time the judge has made his voice heard this year. In February, Manning wrote a 22-page memo to the Republican leadership, warning that a move to drop required high school tests would run afoul of rulings in the Leandro case.

His memo didn’t have much impact. In a bipartisan vote, lawmakers passed a bill that eliminated end-of-course tests in U.S. history, civics, economics and Algebra II.

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