Judge Terror
New Member
- Joined
- May 22, 2006
- Messages
- 26
- Reaction score
- 0
By Sharon McBrayer | The News Herald
Published: May 20, 2009
Morganton - The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is having to find $1 billion to cut from its budget.
Health and Human Services Secretary Lanier Cansler said on Wednesday it costs about $30 million a year to run two deaf schools in the state — one in Morganton and one in Wilson — and the Governor Morehead School for the Blind in Raleigh.
The cost to run one school, Cansler said, would be about $15 million.
The main concern, Cansler said, is to keep the level of services needed for deaf students in the most cost-effective way.
Cansler said that means the state is spending about $100,000 a year on each student. If the schools are consolidated into one, the state would spend about $35,000 per student.
Cansler's recommendation to legislators was to merge the schools into one. He believes with the declining enrollments at the schools, deaf students in the state can be served with one school. According to state officials, enrollment at the North Carolina School for the Deaf in Morganton is 103, Eastern School for Deaf in Wilson enrollment is 107 and enrollment at Morehead School for the Blind in Raleigh is 62.
Cansler said the question then becomes which school would the state keep open?
He said there are pluses and minuses for all three schools. The decision will ultimately be up to legislators, he said.
The North Carolina General Assembly House Appropriations subcommittee on Health and Human services has been meeting on on the budget.
Verla Insko, a chairman of the subcommittee who represents Orange County, said on Tuesday that the subcommittee will look at which school is in the best shape and would cost the least to accommodate students, as well as enrollment and travel time to the schools in order to make a decision.
Cansler's staff will visit each school and make sure legislators have the information needed to make a decision.
Cansler said that the budget cuts that will have to be made will have a tremendous impact on department services. He said the department and the state is being faced with the toughest state budget there has been.
"This is a really serious time in dealing with the state budget," Cansler said.
While local legislators understand the tough budget they are facing, they are doing what they can to find ways to keep the school in Morganton open.
State Rep. Mitch Gillespie, R-McDowell/Burke, was creating a list on Wednesday of alternative funding sources to cut in place of closing NCSD.
He plans to find $17 million, which is what state officials say they can save over the long run through consolidating the three schools.
By Wednesday morning, Gillespie, who is on the full House appropriations committee, had found $2 million to slash. Some of the cuts include $112,000 to the Carolina Raptor Center, $128,000 to the Academy of Spoiled Kids, $38,000 to the Association for Couples and Marriage Enrichment and $7,500 to the Bare Bones Theater Group.
"When you're talking about shutting down the schools for the deaf, how can you defend these items?" Gillespie asked.
Gillespie believes there are other things that can be eliminated without having to cut the deaf school.
State Rep. Hugh Blackwell, R-Burke, met with Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton on Wednesday to plead a case for keeping the Morganton school open. Blackwell also sat in on the subcommittee's meeting on Wednesday. Blackwell has also contacted Gov. Beverly Perdue staff members in the area, he said.
Blackwell said if Burke County is to keep the school for the deaf in the budget, he and Gillespie will have to show where they can come up with other cuts.
Blackwell said the idea that the schools should be consolidated doesn't take into account that the Morganton school is the only one, he believes, that is accredited.
If the school is cut, Gillespie said when it comes time, he will introduce an amendment to the budget to keep the school open.
State Sen. Jim Jacumin, R-Burke/Caldwell, said he accepts lawmakers will have to make some drastic decisions regarding the state budget, but cutting the school in Morganton shouldn't be one of them.
The school is accredited and would cost less to keep open than the other two schools, Jacumin said. The economic impact of closing the school also should be considered, he said. Burke County's unemployment rate is higher than the counties where the other two schools are located, Jacumin said. He also believes only one of the schools should be closed. He said the Wilson and Morganton schools could equally serve both sides of the state.
Those are some of the arguments he's making. He's written both chairman of the Senate and House finance committee making those points for keeping the Morganton school open.
Local elected officials fight for NCSD's survival
Published: May 20, 2009
Morganton - The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is having to find $1 billion to cut from its budget.
Health and Human Services Secretary Lanier Cansler said on Wednesday it costs about $30 million a year to run two deaf schools in the state — one in Morganton and one in Wilson — and the Governor Morehead School for the Blind in Raleigh.
The cost to run one school, Cansler said, would be about $15 million.
The main concern, Cansler said, is to keep the level of services needed for deaf students in the most cost-effective way.
Cansler said that means the state is spending about $100,000 a year on each student. If the schools are consolidated into one, the state would spend about $35,000 per student.
Cansler's recommendation to legislators was to merge the schools into one. He believes with the declining enrollments at the schools, deaf students in the state can be served with one school. According to state officials, enrollment at the North Carolina School for the Deaf in Morganton is 103, Eastern School for Deaf in Wilson enrollment is 107 and enrollment at Morehead School for the Blind in Raleigh is 62.
Cansler said the question then becomes which school would the state keep open?
He said there are pluses and minuses for all three schools. The decision will ultimately be up to legislators, he said.
The North Carolina General Assembly House Appropriations subcommittee on Health and Human services has been meeting on on the budget.
Verla Insko, a chairman of the subcommittee who represents Orange County, said on Tuesday that the subcommittee will look at which school is in the best shape and would cost the least to accommodate students, as well as enrollment and travel time to the schools in order to make a decision.
Cansler's staff will visit each school and make sure legislators have the information needed to make a decision.
Cansler said that the budget cuts that will have to be made will have a tremendous impact on department services. He said the department and the state is being faced with the toughest state budget there has been.
"This is a really serious time in dealing with the state budget," Cansler said.
While local legislators understand the tough budget they are facing, they are doing what they can to find ways to keep the school in Morganton open.
State Rep. Mitch Gillespie, R-McDowell/Burke, was creating a list on Wednesday of alternative funding sources to cut in place of closing NCSD.
He plans to find $17 million, which is what state officials say they can save over the long run through consolidating the three schools.
By Wednesday morning, Gillespie, who is on the full House appropriations committee, had found $2 million to slash. Some of the cuts include $112,000 to the Carolina Raptor Center, $128,000 to the Academy of Spoiled Kids, $38,000 to the Association for Couples and Marriage Enrichment and $7,500 to the Bare Bones Theater Group.
"When you're talking about shutting down the schools for the deaf, how can you defend these items?" Gillespie asked.
Gillespie believes there are other things that can be eliminated without having to cut the deaf school.
State Rep. Hugh Blackwell, R-Burke, met with Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton on Wednesday to plead a case for keeping the Morganton school open. Blackwell also sat in on the subcommittee's meeting on Wednesday. Blackwell has also contacted Gov. Beverly Perdue staff members in the area, he said.
Blackwell said if Burke County is to keep the school for the deaf in the budget, he and Gillespie will have to show where they can come up with other cuts.
Blackwell said the idea that the schools should be consolidated doesn't take into account that the Morganton school is the only one, he believes, that is accredited.
If the school is cut, Gillespie said when it comes time, he will introduce an amendment to the budget to keep the school open.
State Sen. Jim Jacumin, R-Burke/Caldwell, said he accepts lawmakers will have to make some drastic decisions regarding the state budget, but cutting the school in Morganton shouldn't be one of them.
The school is accredited and would cost less to keep open than the other two schools, Jacumin said. The economic impact of closing the school also should be considered, he said. Burke County's unemployment rate is higher than the counties where the other two schools are located, Jacumin said. He also believes only one of the schools should be closed. He said the Wilson and Morganton schools could equally serve both sides of the state.
Those are some of the arguments he's making. He's written both chairman of the Senate and House finance committee making those points for keeping the Morganton school open.
Local elected officials fight for NCSD's survival