North State Journal for Wednesday, March 7, 2018
A2 WEDNESDAY
3.7.18 #118
Spellings marks two years at the helm of UNC system By Laura Ashley Lamm North State Journal
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RALEIGH — It’s been two years since Margaret Spellings took office as the president of the University of North Carolina system, overseeing its 17 campuses. As she moves into her third year, she’s focusing on building innovation and technology through the system. “This is a time where we have this interesting paradox where almost everybody needs what we offer in American higher education,” said Spellings. “Seventy percent of the jobs require a post-secondary education after high school. The paradox is it is at a time when people are increasingly skeptical of public institutions and ask questions about the value. It’s against that backdrop that we do our work.” With the adoption of a strategic plan for the system a year ago, each of the 17 institutions designed how they would adapt unique programs and ideas to support the overall mission of the system. The North Carolina General Assembly offered substantial support to the UNC System. “We’ve got the best budget in 10 years from the N.C. legislature, including a major commitment to support NC Promise,” said Spellings. The NC Promise Tuition Plan will allow the state to significantly reduce the cost of tuition at Elizabeth City State University, the University of North Carolina at Pembroke and Western Carolina University. Beginning in fall 2018, the plan is designed to increase educational access, reduce student debt and grow the state’s economy.
PHOTO COURTESY OF UNC SYSTEM
UNC President Margret Spellings takes a photo with UNC Pembroke students. “Applications are way up at those three institutions,” added Spellings. According to Spellings, UNC Pembroke has seen a rise in applications by 50 percent, 18 percent at Western Carolina University and approximately 15 percent at Elizabeth City State University. “I can’t wait to see how well this program works and commended the legislature for the $51 million investment they’ve made,” said Spellings. “Recently, we had the second meeting of the My Future NC commission, which is an effort to bring about 30 leaders of our state together across the education sector, but also the philanthropic, faith-based and business communities to really think about how we are organized in this state
“We have to create a college-going culture in our state and one with high expectations.” — Margaret Spellings, president of the UNC system to make sure the seams between pre-K to K, K-12 and the community college and public universities are coherent,” she added. My Future NC is a statewide on educational attainment that brings together the UNC System, the North Carolina Community College System and the Department of Public Instruction.
My Future NC will bring together top North Carolina thought leaders from the education, business, philanthropy, faith-based, and nonprofit communities and ex officio representatives from the North Carolina House of Representatives, Senate, and Governor’s office to discuss state education and training needs, identify obstacles to meeting those needs, and generate policy recommendations. The commission’s work is being underwritten by grants from the John M. Belk Endowment, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Goodnight Education Foundation. In addition, the process of lab schools, K-8 training sites for teachers and administrators of the campuses of colleges has gotten underway. The proposed training sites, announced in 2016, include: Appalachian State University, East Carolina University, UNC Charlotte, UNC Greensboro, UNC Pembroke, UNC Wilmington and Western Carolina University. “We also have lab schools that are just getting started in the system with more to open,” said Spellings. “It will help provide options for parents, it will help improve our teacher prep program, and it will help our students get into real live classrooms as soon as possible. “As this is a pilot, it will enable us to learn a lot, scale innovations and share practices. Each school will have a different approach and theory to innovation, and technology will be a big part of it,” she added. In 2017, East Carolina University and Western Carolina University opened lab schools in partnership with their local school districts. UNC Greensboro, Appalachian State University, and UNC Wilmington plan to open lab schools in the fall of 2018. “We have to create a college-going culture in our state and one with high expectations,” said Spellings.
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BOARD RULING from page 1 (R-Cleveland) in a joint statement released Monday evening. “We have addressed the court’s concerns about the board’s membership in a bill Gov. Cooper has already promised to allow to become law, and we once again encourage him to abandon taxpayer-funded and self-serving lawsuits.” In January, the N.C. Supreme Court voted along party lines to send the case back to the threejudge panel after overruling the lower court’s determination that Cooper lacked standing entirely and saying that parts of the original board merger law set up risk of deadlock and stripped the governor of his executive authority. As a result of that decision, Cooper’s lawyers argued to the three-judge panel that they should toss out the new merged board completely and return to the original system with two boards. The N.C. Supreme Court’s majority opinion said the membership
FILINGS from page 1 ert Block, a junior at Appalachian State University, is challenging four-term Republican incumbent Jonathan Jordan for House District 93. The N.C. Democratic Party says their #120DistrictStrategy campaign has yielded positive results with all 120 House races offering a Democrat on the ballot. They are aiming to break the Republican veto-proof majority in the N.C. General Assembly by picking up four seats in the House and six in the Senate, helping Democrat Governor Roy Cooper get more of his policy through the legislature. In 2016, Democrats had the same goal but came up empty, losing a seat in the Senate. “This is a historic day,” Democratic Party Chairman Wayne Goodwin said after the filing deadline. “Democrats entered this midterm with one goal: Recruit a candidate in every single district to break the Republican supermajority this fall.” Goodwin held a “listening tour” during the filing period and used social media to highlight the “resistance” and anti-Trump energy surging through the party. But among the challenges facing Democrats are a surging state and U.S. economy coupled with job growth, because when the economy is strong, voters tend to keep incumbents in power. Plus, polling shows voter support for issues like school choice, something the party has rejected. Congressional Democrats G.K. Butterfield, David Price and Alma Adams are all going to return to voters and explain
of and appointment to the bipartisan board did not give the governor enough control over the board, but Justice Paul Newby dissented saying that given the board’s importance in ensuring fair elections, it should be bipartisan and that the elected General Assembly has the power to establish the rules of the appointments, not the governor. “The only separation of powers violation in this case is this Court’s encroachment on the express constitutional power of the General Assembly,” Newby wrote in his opinion. However, in response to the January N.C. Supreme Court ruling, lawmakers passed a measure in H.B. 90 in February that gave the governor the authority to fire any member of the board, as long as he fills the spot with a member from the same party. The bill also allows the governor to appoint a ninth, unaffiliated member, to avoid deadlock. The additions to the bill answered the concerns of the N.C. Su-
why they didn’t vote for the historic tax cut bill and why there is no fix for DACA. However, NCDP announced in January that they have $2.4 million in cash on hand heading into campaign season, a record for the state party. “This is the best position our party has ever been in heading into a midterm election. We are humbled and grateful to have the support of so many North Carolinians ready for change,” said Goodwin. Republicans, on the other hand, are fighting controversial Twitter storms from the White House, a failed effort to reform healthcare LAURA ASHLEY LAMM | NORTH STATE JOURNAL | FILE and immigration, and repeated Candidate signs in Wilson County greet voters on election day state headlines about the acrimoin 2016. nious relationship between the Republican-led General Assembly and Cooper, brought into sharp relationships. However, other outfocus by a litany of courtroom batlets were also tracking the story, tles. But they also have tax cuts, some for more than a year. The stothree years of state budget surplus- “This idea that somehow ries were published just hours bees, annual teacher raises, dropping when Republicans started fore the filing period closed. Hall unemployment, and national recdrawing districts, people will have a primary, before he faces ognition for the state’s strong ecoeither Republican Tyler Brooks or nomic performance since taking didn’t want to run for office Republican Shawn Hamilton, and the majority in 2011. anymore, that has been Libertarian Travis Groo. “There is nothing to indicate Now that the candidates have some big blue wave. The more completely debunked.” filed, the parties’ attention turns democratic-friendly districts that to May 8, when more races than in they got the court to give them, — Dallas Woodhouse, past election years will have parunjustifiably in my opinion, will ty primaries, including Hall’s. In certainly result in a few democrat- N.C. Republican Party state Senate District 8 and the 4th ic pickups," said Woodhouse. “Our goal is to retain governing majori- N.C. Policy Watch stories reported Congressional District there are ty, whether that’s the supermajori- that five staffers are accusing him even rare libertarian primaries. “Voters are certainly going to ty or pretty close, it’s the majority of sexual harassment. Party chairthat means we can in fact continue man Goodwin, Governor Copper have more access than ever before to implement our policies… and I and others have called on him to and we think that’s a good thing,” step down but he has refused, re- said Woodhouse. believe we will be able to do that.” The winners of those primaries Yet to be determined is wheth- portedly calling the stories a “vener Democrat Rep. Duane Hall detta” by Policy Watch and some of will face off on Tuesday, November (D-Wake) will resign after two its employees with whom he’s had 6, 2018 in the midterm elections.
preme Court, according to justices. Cooper said publicly two weeks ago that he would let H.B. 90 become law without his signature, despite his disagreement with it. The timing of this decision is important with deadlines on the elections schedule looming. Absentee ballots are schedule to go out within the next few weeks for the May 8, 2018, primary. “We don’t anticipate that the decision will affect absentee ballot distribution at all,” said Patrick Gannon, spokesman for the N.C. Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement. “The State Board staff continues to perform all necessary tasks to ensure the primaries run smoothly. At this point, we have not heard anything about appointment of members, but we are prioritizing items that need to go in front of a State Board as soon as members are appointed.” Early voting for the primaries starts April 19 and candidate filing for judicial races starts June 18.
TEACHERS from page 1 11. By total amount of money spent, this school year, 2017-18, is the most the state has spent in 15 years. DPI also points out that, like the rest of the state, the N.C. public school system has gained thousands of students over the last eight years. Since 2010, almost 88,000 more students are learning in a N.C. public school, bringing the total number of public school student statewide to more than 1.5 million. The N.C. Association of Educators (NCAE) releases state rankings based on teacher salary each year, and in 2016-17, N.C. was ranked fifth in the Southeast and 35th nationally. Since then, the N.C. General Assembly gave teachers an average 2 percent raise bringing the average to $51,214. The NCAE’s rankings have not been released yet for this year. The report comes as teach-
$9.6B
Amount spent by N.C. on public schools in 2017-18 er pay is making national news as West Virginia public school teachers ended a nearly two week walkout over raises. Public school teachers there currently earn an average of $45,000 and walked off the job Feb. 22 because a 5 percent raise negotiated with the state’s governor was adjusted to 4 percent by the West Virginia Senate. On Tuesday, a deal was announced that gives five percent raises to all West Virginia state employees. Tuesday on Twitter, the NCAE encouraged N.C. teachers to wear red this Wednesday in solidarity with the striking West Virginia teachers.