LAURINBURG —Scotland County educators could see more money in their wallets over the next two years, according to members of the local legislative delegation who talked about the latest General Assembly session Friday morning.
State Reps. Ken Goodman and Garland Pierce, as well as Jake Cashwell, a staffer for U.S. Rep. Robert Pittenger, used the annual Laurinburg/Scotland County Area Chamber of Commerce Legislative Breakfast to discuss the latest happenings in Raleigh and Washington. More than 30 business and civic leaders attended.
Lawmakers praised the recently approved $23 billion budget state budget, that includes a nine percent pay increase for teachers. The two-year budget bill covers the 2018-19 fiscal year, but provisions can be altered by the General Assembly when it meets next year.
“This particular budget, if you look at if from 30,000 feet, it is a pretty good budget in my opinion,” Goodman said, who represents North Carolina’s District 66.
While Pierce agreed that the North Carolina legislature succeeded in some areas, it fell short in others. The new budget sees cuts to the University of North Carolina system, the state’s board of education, and N.C. department of public instruction, according to Pierce.
Governor Roy Cooper’s budget wanted to increase education funding by $755 million next year, while the conference budget increased education funding by $520 million — roughly 30 percent less than the governor’s budget.
Cooper’s budget plan also wanted to provide $14 million to fund a $150 supply stipend for all classroom teachers, while the Republican budget includes no funding for teachers to cover out-of-pocket classroom supply expenses.
“It still troubles me that we did not put more money into education,” Pierce said. “I think everyone in here, especially the chamber knows the importance of education for a place like Scotland County with the things we are dealing with.”
Pierce was also critical of tax cuts to the wealthy.
“The tax cuts we gave to folks who could have probably could have lived without them,” Pierce said. “There are other folks down to the lower scale did not get those kind of cuts,” said Pierce.
According to Goodman, the state lowered the top rated tax rate from 5.49 percent to 5.35 percent. “To me I don’t know what the emergency was for that.”
“You take a person that is making $1 million a year, it saves that person about $2,500 a year in taxes, which is a significant amount of money for most of us, but someone in that tax bracket that is paying $56,000 a year already,” Goodman said. “I just don’t know how that was a good idea.”
Although Pittenger was unable to attend the breakfast, his region representative, Jake Cashwell, highlighted actions in congress the national lawmakers deemed important.
“The congressman wanted me to share what has happened in the Trump administration so far,” Cashwell said. “The house has passed over 150 bills this year, which is more than any other administration in modern history. President Trump has already signed 37 bills into law just this year. This is more than the last four administrations combined at this time.”
In addition, Cashwell drew attention to the House voting “to repeal and replace Obamacare.”
But analysts said passage of health care reform in the U.S. Senate looks precarious.
“President Trump and Congress have voted to protect our borders and voted to increase funding for our borders by $1.5 billion for additional border security,” he said. “It is essential we have safe borders.”
