There are some positives in the budget, including broadband expansion, water and sewer upgrades, child tax credit increases and higher education funding. Cooper’s veto didn’t give us a better budget last time, and it’s unlikely to do so now.
While we might have preferred for him to go back to the table and negotiate for better educator raises and Medicaid expansion, Republicans probably wouldn’t have budged. Budget battles have consequences, and North Carolinians - especially teachers - have felt those consequences over the past couple of years. Republicans also managed to squeeze in the contents of two bills that Cooper had already vetoed this year, including a provision to limit the governor’s powers during an emergency.īut despite what he called “missed opportunities and misguided policies,” Cooper decided the costs of another veto were too high - and we don’t blame him. That might benefit corporations, but it won’t help North Carolinians. In addition to reducing the personal income tax rate, the budget will completely phase out the corporate income tax after 2029. While that may be an improvement, it’s certainly not a solution.Īnd rather than acknowledge their obligation to fund education in accordance with the Leandro case, Republicans are apparently choosing to take advantage of the state’s multibillion-dollar surplus by spending on tax cuts. The same goes for non-certified public school employees, including cafeteria workers and custodians, who will make $15 an hour after two years. Though it also includes teacher bonuses and salary supplements for teachers in low-wealth counties, it’s hardly enough to keep up with inflation, and it’s unlikely to alleviate the critical teacher shortage our state is facing. In fact, this so-called compromise budget is hardly a compromise at all.įor starters, most educators and state employees, who haven’t seen a pay increase since the last budget was passed in 2017, will get a tepid 5% raise over the next two years. It doesn’t contain high enough raises for teachers and other state employees, nor does it expand Medicaid for the more than 500,000 North Carolinians who lack access to affordable, quality health care. This budget proposal isn’t much better than the one Cooper vetoed two years ago.