posted October 19, 2008 by Dr. Terry Stoops, Joseph Coletti, Dr. Michael Sanera
The Person County commissioners are asking voters to approve a sales-tax increase on November 4. This report identifies almost $14 million in revenue and savings the county could use to meet its needs — more than 18 times the amount that the proposed tax increase would produce.
posted October 13, 2008 by Dr. Terry Stoops, Joseph Coletti, Dr. Michael Sanera
The Chowan County commissioners are asking voters to approve a sales-tax increase on November 4. This report identifies almost $4.5 million in revenue and savings the county could use to meet its needs — more than 14 times the amount that the proposed tax increase would produce.
posted October 9, 2008 by Dr. Terry Stoops, Joseph Coletti, Dr. Michael Sanera
For the second time, the Tyrrell County commissioners are asking county residents to approve a tripling of the land-transfer tax (from 0.2 to 0.6 percent), this time on November 4. This report identifies over $6.4 million in revenue and savings the county could use to meet its needs — almost nine times the amount that the proposed land-transfer tax increase is estimated to produce.
Dr. David Hartgen analyzes the Charlotte LYNX Line, finding, among other things, that final LYNX construction costs are about $521.9 million, about 130 percent above the initial estimate ($227 million), operating costs are about $9.22 million/year, and revenues are averaging about 31 percent of operating costs.
Despite claims to the contrary, North Carolina’s new drought management bill does not expressly prohibit the regulation of water use from private wells. In fact, the bill likely authorizes regulation of water use from private wells.
In 2006, in recognition of the need to attract and retain experienced administrators and teachers who teach subjects (Math and English/Language Arts) that are part of the state and federal accountability requirements, Guilford County Schools, the third largest school system in North Carolina, initiated Mission Possible. The program offers recruitment and performance incentives for teachers and administrators who teach in the county’s low-performing and low-income schools.
During the last legislative session, the North Carolina General Assembly voted to reestablish the Committee on Dropout Prevention and add $15 million to the existing $7 million for dropout prevention grants.
The purpose of the dropout prevention grants is to raise the graduation rate. Among districts receiving grants last year, 27 of 38 had a declining graduation rate from the 2006-07 school year to the 2007-08 school year.
This report develops a system to evaluate school districts on how “parent-friendly” they are. In other words, to what extent do North Carolina’s school districts provide children a sound, basic education in a stable and safe school environment that is responsive to the needs of children and the concerns of parents?
The annexation law, despite hollow claims to the contrary, imposes few requirements on municipalities and offers little protection for citizens when it comes to forced annexation.
Municipalities can forcibly annex areas that do not meet density requirements.
The Legislative Commission on Global Climate Change’s work expired in April 2008. The legislature currently is considering the extension of the commission’s work. A commission to study global climate change can serve a vital purpose, but unfortunately this commission has failed miserably.