Court order splits House over N. Carolina education spending

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — House Republicans are trumpeting their two-year North Carolina government budget proposal for an education construction spree and for state teacher raises at levels that are higher than what the Senate passed in June.

“It does take care of North Carolina from the mountains to the coast and everything in between,” House Speaker Tim Moore of Cleveland County said at a news conference this week unveiling the initial plan. “It recognizes probably the greatest investment that we've seen to ... improve the lives of ordinary North Carolinians that I've ever seen.”

But Democrats on Tuesday said the GOP spending for public education is not enough to meet requirements of the state constitution, and they're using a judge's order to press their case at a time of massive surpluses. The judge said recently the state should spend at least $5.6 billion in new education funding through 2028, including well over $1 billion this year and next to comply with Supreme Court rulings that say the state must provide every student the opportunity for a sound basic education.

The budget measure, which made its way through the House budget-writing committee on Tuesday with debate and amendments, falls well short on that mandate, said Rep. Julie von Haefen, a Wake County Democrat. The House Appropriations Committee debated dozens of amendments before the measure reaches the House floor on Wednesday for the first of two required chamber votes.

“The court has ordered this money to be appropriated, and this budget doesn’t even come close to doing what the first two years of the remedial plan required,” von Haefen told reporters. There's plenty of money to meet these and other education needs pushed by Republicans, she added: “If that was our priority, we could do both...