6.1—percentage increase in spending in K-12 education proposed in the budget released by Governor Roy Cooper last Wednesday (“Governor’s budget for public schools limited by tax cuts in recent years, Progressive Pulse, March 1, 2017)
5—percentage raise proposed for teachers each year for the next two years in Cooper’s budget (Ibid)
150—amount in dollars that Cooper’s budget proposes as a stipend for teachers each year to buy classroom supplies (Ibid)
58—percent that state funding for classroom materials and instructional supplies is currently below spending levels in 2010 when adjusted for inflation (Ibid)
13 million—amount that Cooper’s budget spends—from lottery proceeds and Indian gaming receipts—on additional funding for textbooks and digital resources for students (Ibid)
49—percent that current state spending on textbooks and digital resources is below 2010 funding per student when adjusted for inflation (Ibid)
4,668—number at-risk children currently on the waiting list NC PreK who will be able to enroll in slots funded by Cooper’s budget (“Governor’s budget makes important investments in Pre-K and child care,” Progressive Pulse, March 1, 2017)
2,000—number of additional low-income children who will be able to access high quality eligible through child care subsidies with the $30 million over two years proposed in Cooper’s budget (Ibid)
20,350—total number of low-income children currently on the waiting list for a child care subsidy (Ibid)
8.3 million—amount in dollars that Cooper’s proposes to spend to fund enrollment increases at community colleges (Ibid)
94.6 million—amount in dollars that Cooper’s proposes to spend to fund enrollment increases in university system over the next two years (Ibid)
5 million—amount in dollars that Cooper’s budget proposes spending on teacher scholarship program to encourage bright high school students to enter the teaching profession (Ibid)
32.4 million—amount in additional dollars that Coopers budget proposes spending on need-based aid and scholarship programs for students in university system (Ibid)
2.7—percentage by which Cooper’s budget, excluding proposed teacher raises, spends more on K-12 education that was spent before the Great Recession (Ibid)
225 million—amount in dollars that Cooper’s budget spends above pre-Recession levels overall (Ibid)
1.0— percent that Cooper’s budget, even with increases in overall education investments, spends above pre-Recession levels (“Governor Cooper’s budget: Pragmatic progress, but past GOP tax cuts remain a big problem,” Progressive Pulse, March 1, 2017)
312 million—amount in dollars that Cooper’s budget would set aside in the state’s savings account (Cooper budget would boost spending $1.1 billion, Associated Press, March 1, 2017)
5—number of days since Senate President Pro Tem Phi Berger called Cooper’s proposal a “reckless spending spree” (Ibid)
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