While N.C. Gov. Bev Perdue could have dealt a deadlier blow to UNC-system schools with her recently proposed budget, the plan still leaves much to be desired. Members of the state legislature must bear in mind the long-term dividends investment in education will pay.
The budget’s proposed 9.5 percent cut in funding to the UNC system will be extremely difficult to weather. But further cuts would be downright disastrous.
UNC-system President Thomas Ross said it best: “It is simply impossible to absorb further budget cuts without adversely affecting the quality of the academic experience for our students.”
Our concern is that the Republican-dominated legislature will see the 9.5 percent cuts — which are severe by anyone’s standards except perhaps their own — as soft, making the education budget an easy target for more slashing.
We hope our representatives do not capitalize on this vulnerability. We reiterate: These cuts may seem moderate when compared with the state’s overall cuts, but they will still be detrimental to the UNC system.
Education cuts should not directly reflect the budget’s problems. As much as possible, education should be given priority when determining the budget and should absorb a disproportionately small quantity of cuts.
Making exceptions like this for education makes sense because of the long-term benefits the state will reap from investing in it. It is in everyone’s interest to shield North Carolina’s public universities from the brunt of the blow.
The better this generation is educated, the better North Carolina’s economy will do in the decades to come — decades when the state could potentially face a deficit that dwarfs the current budget concerns.
As Association of Student Governments President Atul Bhula put it, “what we have to do is make sure our state representatives understand the students are the future of the state. Investing in education is investing in North Carolina.”
