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September 13, 2007
The General Assembly returned to Raleigh this week for a special session to reconsider an economic incentives bill that Governor Easley vetoed in August. We reached a compromise that encourages large businesses that offer high salaries to stay in North Carolina.
The compromise bill (House Bill 4 ES) requires the companies to be in one of the state’s poorest counties, to invest $200 million at the site within a six-year period, to employ at least 2,000 full-time employees and to pay for all full-time employees’ health insurance and provide wages 40 percent higher than the county average.
Report on Higher Education
Increased educational attainment leads to higher salaries and a thriving economy. To prepare our young people for the workforce, we strengthened our higher education system by including more money for scholarships, adding programs to encourage high school students to attend college and building facilities that will make sure our institutions of higher learning continue to be among the best in the world.
Financial Aid
This session we created the Education Access Rewards North Carolina Scholars program (EARN) by setting aside $127 million over the next two years to give more North Carolinians access to higher education. The program will provide $4,000 grants each year to the 25,000 community college and UNC system low income students. This program makes the dream of attending school, from pre-K through college, free of debt a reality for all of our citizens.
We increased financial aid in the UNC system by nearly $28 million and set aside another $8.6 million for state scholarships and grants. We also enhanced our “529” college savings fund by allowing more people to contribute money each year to the tax-free accounts.
Learn & Earn
We set aside $2.4 million to expand the Learn & Earn program and increased funding for the online component of the program by $11.5 million. Learn & Earn allows high school students to earn college credits and even an associate’s degree while they are still in high school. The program is free and allows students to prepare for college or work with no more than an extra year of high school – at no additional cost.
Salaries
We gave university and community college faculty and professional staff a 5 percent pay raise so that we can attract the best educators for our students.
Facilities
As our state and our university system grow, we need more buildings and new programs to provide the level of service needed and expected. Below are some of the highlights of our expansion of the 16-campus university system.
East Carolina University
We appropriated $25 million to plan and operate a new dental school at ECU. It will have up to ten clinics serving patients in underserved areas of eastern North Carolina. ECU plans to recruit students from rural areas and will encourage students to practice in those areas. The dental school is set to open by 2010 at the earliest.
Elizabeth City State University
ECSU will receive $2 million for the new 45,000-square-foot School of Education Building. Another $500,000 has been set aside for the new School of Aviation Complex.
North Carolina Central University
We gave the law school at NCCU $2.5 million to help them comply with American Bar Association recommendations to maintain a better ratio between state funds and federal grant funds. Last year the school depended on federal grants for about 30 percent of its budget. The new state funds will help the school handle enrollment increases, protect employees and make sure students get the services they need. NCCU also received $2.5 million for the 65,000-square-foot School of Nursing building.
North Carolina State University
NCSU received $17 million to plan and build the James B. Hunt Library on Centennial Campus.
University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
UNC-Chapel Hill received $25 million for a 215,000-square-foot addition to the School of Dentistry. An additional $8 million has been set aside for the 275,000-square-foot Biomedical Research Imaging Center.
University of North Carolina - Charlotte
Making North Carolina a leader in energy efficiency was one of our main goals this session. We set aside $19 million to plan and build the Energy Production Infrastructure Center at UNC-Charlotte. Students at the center will learn how to make more efficient power plants.
Winston Salem State University
WSSU will receive $3.3 million to plan a new Science and General Office Building.
Nano-science and Nano-engineering Building
We appropriated $5 million for the Joint Graduate School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering Building at the Millennium Campus in Greensboro. The 95,000-square- foot facility will be jointly operated by North Carolina A&T State University and the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. N.C. A&T will also receive $5.3 million for a new classroom and instructional building. UNCG will receive $2.5 million for a new education building.
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