Fitzsimon File

You would think that the ruling by Superior Court Judge Howard Manning that the state owes school systems almost $750 million in civil fines collected over nine years would spark some concern among legislative leaders and other state officials.

But House Speaker Joe Hackney and Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand don't seem too worried about it judging from their reaction to Manning's ruling.  Hackney says the money will just come out of existing education funds and that everybody assumed that all along.

Rand says there's not much money available anyway given the state's tight financial situation. Governor Mike Easley says figuring out what to do about the ruling is up to the General Assembly. It's only public schools after all, no need for any displays of leadership.

Manning's ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by several local school systems and the North Carolina School Boards Association ten years ago who argued that the state constitution required that civil fines and penalties go to school systems. The money instead went to the state's General Fund and now Manning says it must be paid back.

Don't hold your breath. The position of Hackney and Rand may be disturbing, but it is not a surprise that they simply assume the money will just come out of existing education funds. That has become the way the General Assembly does business in recent years and this past session is no exception.

The education budget did not include enough money to pay for the annual teacher bonuses as part of the ABC testing program, so local school systems can make up the difference if they are able. But it is more likely that teachers won't get their full bonus.

Same for the rising cost of fuel for school buses. The recent drop in gases prices will help, but even if gas doesn't go back up, the $45 million in the budget to pay for higher fuel costs may not be enough and local schools will have to find the money for that too.

State lawmakers still have not restored the state sales tax exemption for schools they repealed a few years ago. Schools are still absorbing that $33 million hit. Lawmakers could and should restore that exemption and consider paying back the $750 million over the next several years.

But that task won't be easy given the decision to spend $166 million in one-time money on recurring expenses in this year's budget, creating a hole in 2009, or the approval of $857 million of new debt without a vote of the people, adding a $90 million annual bill for debt service starting next year.

Then there is the $115 million shortfall in the State Health Plan that could be twice that big at the end of the fiscal year. The House tried late in the session to fill the hole with money from the state savings account, but the Senate refused to consider it. Better to put that off to next year and let the next governor and General Assembly deal with it.

And now state leaders are shrugging their shoulders at a judge's ruling that $750 million has been unconstitutionally withheld from the schools. At least they are consistent in shirking their responsibilities.

 Email This Post  Print This Post

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 13th, 2008 at 6:37 pm and is filed under Fitzsimon File. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.