In case you missed, The News & Observer provided a look this weekend into Governor’s School as it reopened for summer session in the midst of great uncertainty over its future.
House and Senate lawmakers are expected to announce their state budget compromise Monday, and it remains to be seen whether a Senate proposal to chop $800,000 in state funding for the program will be included in the final spending package.
The House budget retains funding for Governor’s School, while Gov. Roy Cooper has asked the legislature to boost the allocation to $1.2 million.
The program, begun in 1963, offers five-week summer programs in Raleigh and Winston-Salem for top high school students, with a focus on critical thinking, academics and the arts.
As the paper notes, Governor’s School has become a target of GOP lawmakers in recent years.
From The N&O:
Karen and David Shore of Holly Springs dropped off their son, Carter, at Meredith on Sunday. Carter plays the French horn and said he wanted to attend the school after learning about a friend’s experiences last summer. He said he was excited to play with the “best from around North Carolina.”
Carter and his parents said he would learn more than just music while on campus. One class he’s taking deals with personal finance. His mother said she hopes the legislature takes a closer look at the program before making a final decision.
“I hope they realize how great it is for North Carolina students and what an investment it is,” Karen Shore said. “You have to spend now but it pays off later.”
Yet over the past eight years, the budget for the Governor’s School has either decreased or remained unchanged. In 2009, the school’s budget was cut from $1.3 million to $850,000. In 2011, the program nearly lost all funding before the General Assembly agreed to provide $800,000.
Laura Sam, Governor’s School East site director at Meredith, said because funding has remained static for years while North Carolina’s population has grown, the program cannot match demand. The Governor’s School enrolled 670 students for the summer, but Sam said it received 1,796 applicants this year and more than 1,700 the year before.
The program charges $500 in tuition to help make up for lower state funding. While it offers scholarships to those who might not be able to afford tuition, Sam said she knows some students might ignore the school once they see the cost.
“We have not failed, we have succeeded … but we are not fully funded,” she said.
The Senate plan to end state funding for the program would direct money to revive a different summer program, the Legislative School for Leadership and Public Service, and to a four-week science, math and engineering residential program run by the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics.
Senate budget writers such as Sen. Chad Barefoot, a Republican representing Wake and Franklin counties, suggested Governor’s School would not need to close, provided they find funding from other sources.
However, as The News & Observer notes, that seems unlikely.
The president of the Foundation for the Governor’s School of North Carolina has said tuition and private fundraising would not be enough to keep the program alive.
Will Niver, a teacher for Governor’s School East, remembers being a student in the program in 2003 when he was a rising senior in high school and he was interested in the social sciences.
“When I look at the person who came, to seeing the person who left just six weeks later, it opened my eyes to so much,” said Niver. “… It put me on a different path.”
Niver said after graduating from UNC-Chapel Hill, he spent some time as a middle school teacher and then completed a master of public policy degree from Duke University. Meantime, he returned to work at the Governor’s School in 2007.
Niver spoke as students arrived and located the residence halls where they would live. He said he is aware of state budget concerns but he can’t let those bother him.
“We need to keep making sure the General Assembly knows how valuable this program is,” Niver said. “The first thing on my mind right now is I’m going to meet several dozen students in the next couple of days and I want them to have just as amazing a time (as) I did.”
Stay tuned for budget updates as they develop.
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