Both the House and Senate have passed their proposed budgets. How do the two chambers differ on education spending? Here is general outline on spending differences for K-12 education
Spending
Total Education Spending (K-12, Community Colleges and UNC System) for 2015-16:
House – $12.499 billion
Senate- $12.048 billion
Public K-12 Education Revised 2015-16 Appropriation
House – $8.624 billion
Senate – $8.282 billion
Teacher Salaries
House – Provides 2 percent increase for teachers in all tiers of salary schedule, raises starting pay from $33K to $35K and provides experience-based step.
Senate – Provides money to increase starting teacher pay to $35K, grant an experience-based step increase. Also gives districts more discretion on how to spend money on raises
Teacher Assistants
House – Adds $89 million to offset the loss of Lottery Receipts, the additional monies will put allotment at 2014-15 Funding levels.
Senate – Reduces funding $57.6 million in 2015-16; $166.1 million in 2016-17
Enrollment Growth
Both House and Senate provide $100 million in the first year, $207 million in the second year for enrollment growth. Monies to be used for hiring teachers and other staff.
Textbook & Digital Resources
House – Adds $43.5 million in new spending each of next two years.
Senate – Adds $29.5 million in each of next two years of biennium
Grants
House – Provides almost $10 million per year in each of the next two years on grants to non-profits or education organizations.
Senate – Provide allocates no grant money to non-profits or education organizations
Faculty and Staff Development
House – Provides significant funding for faculty and staff development $4 million for regional leadership academics $1.2 million for career and technical education teacher bonuses $126,500 for Advanced Placement Summer Institute, $8.2 million for Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate teachers, $3.6 million for school safety and instructional support $3.6 million for school safety and instructional support, $10 million for NC Elevating Educators Act of 2015 to create and fund advanced teaching roles for K-12 teachers.
Senate – Provides no new additional monies for faculty and staff development
School Choice
House- $1 million in each of next two years to Parents for Educational Freedom to assist in the development of rural charter schools in NC
Senate – No budget provision
Opportunity Scholarship
House -$6.8 million (2015-16) to expand Opportunity Scholarship Program
Senate -$6.8 million in each of next two years to expand Opportunity Scholarship Program
Special Education Scholarships
House – $500, 00 each year to expand grants from $3,000/semester to $4,000/semester
Senate – $250,000 each of next two years to expand program scholarships to $4,000 per semester.
With regard to total spending, the differences aren’t that significant, less than 4 percent. However there are clear differences with regard to the prevalence of grants, faculty and staff development and pay for teachers and teacher assistants. There will be plenty of negotiating in the days ahead. Stay tuned.
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