Easley on budget

Gov. Mike Easley wants to make sure the state budget includes money for his Learn and Earn Program.

In a June 7 letter to Senate president pro tem Marc Basnight and House Speaker Joe Hackney, Easley said that he hopes the final budget will include money for online courses and college grants in the program.

He applauded the pay raises for teachers already in the budget.

He also said that the budget cuts should not be "arbitrary," and criticized a plan to use money saved from empty positions to pay for a salary increase.

"The Departments of Correction and Health and Human Services, to use two examples, are dependent on the vacant positions to pay for overtime, temporary workers, and other mandatory costs," he wrote.

He also argued for some type of Medicaid relief for North Carolina's counties.