Redundant Words on Education

We need more money! How often have North Carolinians heard this phrase from our state government?  Too many to count in recent times, and Governor Bev Perdue is once again on her education rant.  With the new Republican-crafted state budget, the Governor issued a statement today condemning the budget for its lack of education funding.  Perdue calls for “more revenue to adequately fund our education system” and says the budget is  “barely neutral”.  Hasn’t North Carolina heard this repeatedly? How much money is enough? And hasn’t it been even clearer that money pumped into the system can’t touch the severity of our below average national education ranking?  As an education governor, Perdue is expected to reiterate this redundant message of hers, and Lt. Governor Walter Dalton has jumped on board as well.  Dalton points out that the budget doesn’t repair any of the cuts made last year, and that lawmakers need to support an increase in education funds.

Yes, education is very important, and yes, it is imperative that we do something about our less than competitive K-12 public education in North Carolina.  But state entities across the board must face these types of economic challenges for the time being and find innovative ways to improve resource management to cut costs. Pumping more money into to the system doesn’t necessarily prompt innovation; improving how we use the money currently in the system does.  Our state government’s chronic disease of overspending continues to catch up with us, and cutbacks must be made at all levels.  Bev Perdue is just beating a dead horse with her words. Giving immunity to education will only dig a deeper hole in our state’s financial mess.