RALEIGH – Gov. Mike Easley accused legislative leaders Sunday of seeking to "shaft" public school teachers in favor of a tax cut benefiting the wealthy.

With the end of the fiscal year looming today at midnight, members of Easley's senior staff met Sunday morning with House and Senate leaders in an attempt to hammer out a state budget.

A couple hours later, the governor issued a searing statement saying legislators are using dated revenue projections rather than newer numbers from his office that reflect the economic slowdown of recent months.

Easley will not sign a budget that is not realistically balanced, the release said.

"The General Assembly cannot ignore reality," said the statement attributed to Easley. "The very latest numbers verify that we remain short of the estimates that legislative budget writers are currently using. We recommended specific and sensible ways to fill the budget gap. … I am concerned that this message keeps falling on deaf ears."

Sen. Linda Garrou, a Winston-Salem Democrat among those who met Sunday with Easley's aides, said the strident tone of the media release was less than helpful. (more…)