The Perdue Difference
2011-06-16 - by
Two members of Governor Perdue’s staff took issue with my view that Republicans have successfully minimized the differences between their education budget and hers. I invited them to spell out the differences. They obliged with an analysis headed “Setting the Record Straight: Perdue Budget Would Invest More Than a Half Billion Dollars More in Public Education.”
It follows:
“Republican leaders are claiming that there is little difference between the budget that the General Assembly passed and the budget that Governor Perdue proposed in February. These claims are false. All told, the Governor’s two-year budget would have invested more than a half billion dollars more in public education[1] than the General Assembly’s budget (approximately $561 million more).[2]
“Governor Perdue’s budget is the ONLY plan that actually protects EVERY SINGLE state-funded teacher and teaching assistant position. The General Assembly’s budget forces local school districts to make $322 million in cuts, which—contrary to Republican claims—will result in the layoff of thousands of teachers and teachers’ assistants.
“In short, Governor Perdue’s budget made substantially greater investments in public education:
– “The General Assembly’s cuts to Smart Start and More at Four are 400% deeper than the reductions Governor Perdue proposed.
- “The General Assembly cuts $256.7 million more from K-12 than Governor Perdue proposed.
- “The General Assembly cuts $68.9 million more from community colleges than Governor Perdue proposed.
- “The General Assembly cuts $236.1 million more from public universities than Governor Perdue proposed.
[1] “’Public education’ includes early childhood education, K-12, community colleges and public universities.
The Perdue Difference
2011-06-16/
Two members of Governor Perdue’s staff took issue with my view that Republicans have successfully minimized the differences between their education budget and hers. I invited them to spell out the differences. They obliged with an analysis headed “Setting the Record Straight: Perdue Budget Would Invest More Than a Half Billion Dollars More in Public Education.”
It follows:
“Republican leaders are claiming that there is little difference between the budget that the General Assembly passed and the budget that Governor Perdue proposed in February. These claims are false. All told, the Governor’s two-year budget would have invested more than a half billion dollars more in public education[1] than the General Assembly’s budget (approximately $561 million more).[2]
“Governor Perdue’s budget is the ONLY plan that actually protects EVERY SINGLE state-funded teacher and teaching assistant position. The General Assembly’s budget forces local school districts to make $322 million in cuts, which—contrary to Republican claims—will result in the layoff of thousands of teachers and teachers’ assistants.
“In short, Governor Perdue’s budget made substantially greater investments in public education:
– “The General Assembly’s cuts to Smart Start and More at Four are 400% deeper than the reductions Governor Perdue proposed.
- “The General Assembly cuts $256.7 million more from K-12 than Governor Perdue proposed.
- “The General Assembly cuts $68.9 million more from community colleges than Governor Perdue proposed.
- “The General Assembly cuts $236.1 million more from public universities than Governor Perdue proposed.
[1] “’Public education’ includes early childhood education, K-12, community colleges and public universities.