The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog

The prison is the only one west of Asheville. Corrections officials have been optimistic that its workers could be reassigned if it closes as proposed by Perdue, but Sen. John Snow said the distance would be too great.

“There wasn't anywhere for those folks to go,” said Snow, a Murphy Democrat who co-chairs the budget subcommittee on public safety. “The 44 employees that would be lost, would be lost, period.”

The plan also spares Camp Woodson, a Buncombe County wilderness camp aimed at turning around the most serious offenders in the juvenile justice system; and the Young Offenders Forest Conservation Program, also known as the BRIDGE program, which sends young inmates in the adult corrections system to fight forest fires in the mountains.

Four prisons in eastern and central North Carolina would close under the plan, down from seven in Perdue's proposal to the General Assembly.

Also tapped for closing: two aging youth lockups that are close to new units and a number of programs that target at-risk youths, like the Center for the Prevention of School Violence. Juvenile Justice Secretary Linda Hayes called those “very shocking” cuts that could cripple public safety efforts.

No new building projects are proposed in the budget, but senators added $2.6 million to continue planning for expansion of state medical schools — including a program that would bring third- and fourth-year medical students to Asheville — and for the Center for Health and Aging, a project of the Mountain Area Health Education Center.
Larger classes

Budget chairwoman Sen. Linda Garrou said boosting average class size by two students would save $320 million.

It's one of the largest cost-savings measures in the plan, which also assumes some tax increases without outlining what they are.

Senators “knew that we couldn't just cut our way out of the budget,” Garrou said.

The state faces a budget shortfall predicted to top $3 billion in the fiscal year that starts in July.

The Senate plan would leave some of the savings up to state agencies. Garrou said the extra authority would allow agencies to furlough state employees if necessary.

Some employees may volunteer for furloughs, Senate leaders said: for example, to take an unpaid long weekend.

Raising class size would allow school systems to build fewer new schools and the state to pay for 6,000 fewer teacher jobs, which Senate leaders said can be accomplished by not replacing teachers who leave.

Garrou, a Winston-Salem Democrat and former teacher, said she once taught a 40-student classroom.

Classes won't reach that size. They would go up by two students, growing to an average of 20 in kindergarten through third grade and more in upper grades, including to 29 in grades 10-12.

Perdue has said she would resist efforts to increase class size.

“The Senate made some good investments in what we know of its budget so far, but at this point in time Gov. Perdue is troubled by the proposed increase in class size,” said Perdue spokesman David Kochman. “An increase of two students per class means eliminating 6,200 teaching positions and reducing the amount of individual attention our kids receive in the classroom.”

But Garrou said the increases, which Republican leaders have also sought, are less harmful than alternatives.

“The most important thing is that we have a good teacher,” Garrou said.
Cutting programs, tests, school systems

The remaining educators would have fewer requirements for testing.

Senators proposed cutting funding, more than $3 million a year, for all tests not required by federal law or to obtain federal funding.

Among the subjects of tests to be dropped: reading competency, math competency, computer skills and end-of-course tests in geometry, algebra II, physical science, chemistry and physics.

Another $11 million per year in school savings would come from cutting the extra funding that goes to counties with more than one school system, starting in the 2010 school year.

That would require Asheville City Schools to merge into Buncombe County Schools unless taxes go up or the systems find other revenue.

The idea has been pushed by Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand, but it has strong opposition in the Senate. A committee debated Rand's proposal last month without taking a vote, airing criticism from some of the senators who represent the 15 city school systems.

Senators today will begin proposing changes to the plan. Garrou said they would have the chance to offer amendments.

The bill then gets a Senate vote before moving to the House. Sen. Martin Nesbitt, an Asheville Democrat, said he's doubtful the House would agree to school consolidation even if he and allies fail to remove the provision.

If it does become law, Nesbitt said he's glad it doesn't take effect immediately, giving schools time to prepare.

The budget would also find savings by merging the preschool subsidy program for at-risk 4-year-olds, More at Four, with the broader program aimed at readying young children for school, Smart Start.

Cutting More at Four funding from the education department would allow creation of a similar program in the health department, where Smart Start resides.

Garrou said the plan would save $40 million.

“It's probably smart to think of it as a whole,” said Sen. Joe Sam Queen, a Waynesville Democrat.

The tax portion of the budget remains undisclosed, including whether the Senate will follow Perdue's lead and propose increases in the cigarette and alcohol tax. But a number of court fees would go up under the plan.
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