Representative Harry Warren
♦This week was the first full week that I have been able to spend back in Rowan County and at home with my family in Salisbury. I had an opportunity to tour the Rowan County Airport with the entire legislative delegation (Senators Brock and McLaurin, Representative Ford and I), along with Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (District 5) and Congressman Richard Hudson (District 8). County Commissioners Jim Sides (Chairman) and Craig Pierce (Vice–Chair) facilitated the tour, which outlined the future development plans for the airport and the current construction of a new hanger, which will be the largest one at the airport.
This past Monday evening, I attended the “Business After Hours” event sponsored by the Rowan County Chamber of Commerce. Each month throughout the year, a Chamber member business will host the monthly event. This one was hosted by Salisbury Motors at their showroom at 700 W. Innes St. The family-owned company is a Salisbury fixture that has been serving the citizens of Rowan County for more than 90 years. These events are held on a Monday evening, so this was the first that I have been available to attend, as I am usually in Raleigh on Mondays, where our session starts at7:00 pm on Mondays. It was great to hear from so many of the local business folks regarding the tax revisions and other legislation that we have passed this year. Several people mentioned their satisfaction with the passage of HB 937- the gun laws revisions; others expressed some concerns about information that they have heard regarding aspects or parts of other legislation. There was a great opportunity to answer questions and to clarify some issues for folks.
On Tuesday, I attended the reception for AREVA, a company that is moving their headquarters to Charlotte and will add approximately 150 more jobs to their ranks, which will bring their total to over 600. While there, I had the chance to answer a lot of similar questions for those folks. What was most interesting was that among all the people I spoke with, several people associated with education seemed to have the least clarity about the education part of this budget we just passed.
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Recently, I heard someone say that “it’s a very thin coin that doesn’t have two sides.” Representative Jimmy Dixon has submitted this editorial to his local paper regarding the other side of the coin as it pertains to the education budget. I would like to share it with you:
All across North Carolina there are vigorous discussions about the 2013-2014 state budget recently passed by the General Assembly and signed into law by the Governor.
That, in my opinion, is very good news.
Billions of dollars paid in taxes by hard-working taxpayers are spent each year to fund the various expenditures that we, as elected officials, deem necessary to provide the services and functions of our state government to our citizens. We need, and should welcome, vigorous debate and discussion aimed at holding us accountable for the manner in which we spend your tax dollars.
However, the debate and discussion should be fair and based on facts.
Perhaps a brief reflection on two quotes from Mark Twain will set a proper stage for this newsletter. He spoke the truth when he said, “Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are more pliable.” He further advised, “Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please.” Facts and statistics rolled together can tell the truth or a lie. My objective is to use some facts to tell the truth and correct some liberal distortions filling the pages of newspapers across this state.
We would be hard pressed to find a more debated or vitally important issue from our current state budget than funding for K-12 education. This type forum does not provide ample space to discuss the totality of the issue nor am I attempting to do so. However, there is another side that is of a different flavor than the liberal, special-interest war cry claiming that Republicans have decimated public education. Just like they did two years ago, they want to distort the facts and avoid a historical review of factors leading to current educational conditions.
To give perspective to the current K-12 funding issues, consider for a moment just a few verifiable historical facts that I got from the latest issue of “Highlights of the North Carolina Public School Budget,” published by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.
In the heat of any debate, a brief look back may yield golden answers looking forward.
Fact number one: In 1970, 52.5% of our state’s General Fund went to K-12 education. By 2010 only 37.4% of our state’s General Fund went to K-12 education. Check to see who was in control of the General Assembly during the years of that 15.1% funding decline. Former majorities chose to spend more of your hard-earned tax dollars on something other than K-12 education. Such things as Public TV, museums, the University System, dozens of newly formed non-profits with duplicated and over-lapping functions and other funding ventures filled with political corruption. Increased cost of out-of-control Medicaid and Federal Unemployment, combined with increased employee health care costs, ate up another huge chunk of your tax dollars.
Fact number two: A year-to-year comparison of state spending per student is a true apples to apples comparison. The following may be boring but this history of per student state funding is very important.
Year State Funding
Per Student
2008-09 $5,759
2009-10 5,210
2010-11 5,125
2011-12 5,340
2012-13 5,475
2013-14 5,452
Notice that the huge reduction in state funding per student started in 2009-10 as a result of the great recession. The state appropriation was reduced by $840 million in that year alone!
Notice also that in 2012-13 the first Republican majority in 140 years managed to increase state funding per student by $135 above the last Democratic budget. And we will almost maintain that level in 2013-14. We also accomplished that level of funding after reducing sales taxes in 2012 by $1.3 billion.
Fact number three: The democrats maintained higher levels of total student funding from 2009-10 to 2010-11 by using huge amounts of federal stimulus money. They got $427 and $490 per year per student for those two budget years. As a Republican majority, we got $166 and $25 per year per student for our first two years and $0 per student for our current budget year.
Fact number four: Under the Republican majority, K-12 education funding has increased from $7.15 billion in 2010-11 to almost $7.9 billion for 2013-14. That is a 10.5% increase.
Fact number five: North Carolina ranks 11th in the nation and 2nd in the southeast for the highest percentage of K-12 funding from state revenue. 60.1% comes from state revenue, 23.9% comes from local revenue and 16.0% comes from federal funds.
Fact number six: The 2011-12 average salaries for 10-month teachers was $41,032. Matching benefits were: hospitalization $4,931, retirement $5,383 and Social Security $3,139 for a total salary plus benefits of $54,485. This figure does not include any local supplement which averages $3,433 statewide.
Fact number seven: North Carolina ranks 7th out of twelve states in the Southeast in average teacher compensation.
Fact number eight: North Carolina teachers and state employees have had only one 1.2% pay increase since 2008-09.
Fact number nine: (at least in my opinion it is a fact) Caring and dedicated classroom school teachers are facing increasingly difficult challenges that hinder their earnest efforts to teach our children.
The challenges we all face in our attempt to properly fund education are difficult enough when our discussions are based on historical facts. Our task becomes impossible when some people are willing to use our teachers and students as political ping pong balls by using misinformation, distorted political rhetoric and lies to worsen an already factually based funding problem for K-12 public education.
A wise man has said, “No success can compensate for failure in the home.” Certainly a major problem facing public education is the rapid increase in the lack of home centered preschool preparation and recurring home supervision with caring parental involvement of so many children.
Nevertheless, we must continue to try and remember, “Lies have speed but truth has endurance.” I am confident that our current budget will favorably pass the test of time. We, the people might benefit by pausing in the heat of the debate and taking a brief look back as we consider the factors that resulted in the current conditions. By doing so, we may find golden solutions for future problems.
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Representative Dixon is one of the nicest, most level headed people that I have had the pleasure to meet in Raleigh. He is thoughtful, considerate and a “country” joy to speak with. Jimmy is a turkey farmer who has the personality and charm of North Carolina running through his veins. Neither Jimmy nor I like to “stir the pot” but there comes a time when it is necessary to interject “the rest of the story,” as Paul Harvey famously said.
If one wants to arrive at the truth, then one must listen to all sides of a matter in order to gather all the facts available. I have yet to meet an individual who is always right or always wrong. It is incumbent upon us all to do the best that we can and to give the other person the benefit of the doubt that he/she is too.
Sincerely, Harry
N.C. House of Representatives District 77, Rowan County
611 Legislative Office Building Raleigh,
North Carolina 27603
(919) 733-5784
