2006

RALEIGH – The Wake County Public School System could scale back its billion-dollar school construction and renovation plans without harm to student learning. That’s the key finding in a new…

Contrary to the claims of school officials and community leaders in Wake County, students do not necessarily perform better in schools that have fewer mobile units or temporary classrooms, more square feet per student, and more acreage. This finding is consistent with national and international research that found no consistent relationship between school facilities and learning. The Wake County Public School System can scale back their multi-billion construction and renovation plans without harm to student learning.

RALEIGH – North Carolina schools need better teaching methods to help students with limited English speaking skills. That’s the recommendation in a new John Locke Foundation Spotlight report. “The…

The number of limited English proficient (LEP) students has been increasing for years, but the state’s public schools lack a systematic and proven program to teach English to these children. Reading scores among students who are learning English remain low, especially among high school students. The best way to teach English to North Carolina’s LEP students is through universal training in and adoption of Direct Instruction methods, which is a proven way to teach English as a second language.

RALEIGH – North Carolina should stop making it easy for illegal immigrants to get state driver’s licenses. That’s the main recommendation in a new Spotlight report from the John…

North Carolina makes it very easy for illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses. Instead of requiring Social Security Numbers to get a license, the state accepts IRS-issued Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs), even though they primarily are issued to illegal immigrants. To make matters worse, the state does not even require that people prove their lawful status in the country. In 2005, the state's own auditor warned against accepting ITINs, yet the legislature still has failed to take any action.

RALEIGH – Dubious numbers hamper the debate over illegal immigration in North Carolina, according to a new Spotlight report from the John Locke Foundation. “As the debate about immigration…

As the debate about immigration continues, all involved need to be aware of the limitations of existing statistics. Hispanics are about 6 percent of the state’s population and growing. Illegal immigrants make up an estimated 45 percent of the state’s Hispanic population, but 76 percent of recent entrants. The economic and government service usage effects of Hispanics on the state are also significant, but the impact of illegal immigrants is less clear.

RALEIGH – N.C. legislators should close the books on two “temporary” taxes, now that those taxes have helped generate a $2.4 billion state budget surplus. That’s a key finding in…

Economic growth has given the General Assembly $2.4 billion more to spend. Higher sales and income taxes have contributed to this surplus. The Senate adds $1.4 billion in new spending, and relies on nonrecurring revenues for $400 million in new recurring obligations. Drawing on the John Locke Foundation’s Freedom Budget 2005, this paper offers an alternative budget that would end the sales tax and income tax increases from 2001, eliminate Medicaid’s burden on counties, and keep spending growth to 4.3 percent – all within the limit of population growth and inflation.