[This story has been updated with additional information.] Education officials and lawmakers are scrambling to prevent the lay-offs of 220 teachers at the N.C. Virtual Public School during the upcoming fall semester. State law requires a mandatory 31-day break in service for temporary employees. As a result, 220 teachers at NCVPS won’t be allowed to...
Please sign a truce over the budget, University of North Carolina System interim President Dr. Bill Roper asks of the warring branches of state government. In the weeks-old budget battle between Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and the Republican-led N.C. General Assembly, much is at stake for public higher education, Roper told Carolina Journal in an...
If North Carolina bans smokable hemp, hundreds of farmers will lose money on their crops — and faith in their legislators, says Blake Butler, executive director of the N.C. Industrial Hemp Association. Hemp and marijuana are different plants, but some House lawmakers want to throw both into the same pot. A House committee on July...
As hospitals fight cost-cutting reforms to the State Health Plan, State Treasurer Dale Folwell remains undaunted. The treasurer’s fight to overhaul the state health plan has pitted state employees and taxpayers against the hospital industry. Folwell promises to save taxpayers $258 million and plan members almost $57 million by tethering payments to Medicare prices. That...
A bill N.C. lawmakers passed in late June aims to help 2 million residents get a postsecondary degree or certificate by 2030. The state’s workforce will lag if North Carolina doesn’t boost education opportunities for residents, show findings from myFutureNC, a statewide organization for educational attainment. By 2020, 67% of the state’s jobs will require...
There will be parades, speeches, picnics, and gatherings across North Carolina this month to celebrate freedom. The General Assembly will be wrapping up its work, at least for the meantime, this month. In many of the public policy debates this session, it seems to me freedom is in peril. We saw it in the budget...
If the goal of raising educational attainment is to enhance human capital, then it would be a mistake to focus too narrowly on university campuses.
Gov. Roy Cooper on Wednesday, June 26, signed of pair of alcohol-related bills into law. House Bill 389 opens the way for universities to sell beer and wine at college sporting events. Senate Bill 11 strengthens permitting rules for selling alcohol and the ability of law enforcement to crack down on violators. Sen. Andy Wells,...
House Bill 389, which would open the way for universities to sell beer and wine at college sporting events, is awaiting a signature from the governor. The bill, if Gov. Roy Cooper signs it, will expand existing legislation and also seeks to control consumption at NCAA events, such as football games, where drinking is prevalent...
John Locke Foundation Senior Vice President Becki Gray and Chairman John Hood assess the latest news in the dispute between the University of North Carolina and Vidant Medical Center. Gray and Hood offered these comments during the June 14, 2019, edition of “NC SPIN.”
In an email to faculty and staff, East Carolina University Interim Chancellor Dan Gerlach and Brody School of Medicine Dean Dr. Mark Stacy urged Vidant Health and Pitt County commissioners to back off in their fight with the UNC System over Brody School of Medicine. The email, sent Monday, June 10, was clear: The ECU...
