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Martin Nesbitt, the top Democrat in the state Senate, said Tuesday the budget proposed by GOP legislators is "a grave threat to job creation in North Carolina."

"If passed, this budget would kill thousands of jobs and amount to the single largest cut to education in North Carolina history," said Nesbitt, who is from Asheville. “There isn’t a classroom in the state that would be left untouched by the GOP’s job-killing budget. From preschools to elementary schools to community colleges and universities, this proposal jeopardizes the very future of our state.

“We’ve already seen a path forward on the budget that cuts taxes for middle class families while drawing the line at the classroom door. The GOP should stop trying to please the tea party and start listening to North Carolinians, who want a reasonable budget that creates jobs and protects education for their kids.”

A proposed 2012 budget introduced in a House committee slashes education programs across the state.

GOP budget writers targeted the UNC system for a 15.5 percent percent cut. Community colleges would take a 10 percent cut and the public schools would see an 8.8 percent reduction.

The cut to public schools would total $694 million. Teacher assistants would be funded only in kindergarten and first-grade classrooms under the House proposal.

Community colleges would be cut by $110 million, and the UNC system would reduced by $448 million.

Under the proposal, university students would be limited to nine semesters of financial aid starting next year. Tuition waivers for graduate students would be cut by nearly $9 million. State funding for students who go to private colleges would be cut by 10 percent.

N.C. State University Chancellor Randy Woodson said a 15.5 percent cut, which would slash more than $80 million from his institution’s budget, would cost an estimated 550 to 700 jobs, including those of up to 200 faculty members.

It also would increase the amount of time it takes to graduate, boosting the number of students in practically every class section taught and reducing the number of sections.

“This would be a large and dramatic change for the entire university system and it would be just devastating to manage,” Woodson said. “I know that cuts are necessary and they have to deal with the problems with the state budget, but this level of cutting would do permanent damage and be difficult for us to recover from.

“There’s no way to cut that much and keep the academic strength of the institution the same,” he said.

A list of detailed cuts is available by clicking "read more."

SLICE, DICE: State agencies got the word Thursday that it's time to prepare for next year's $3 billion budget deficit by working up plans for permanent cuts of 5, 10 and 15 percent. (N&O)

TESTING. TESTING ONE, TWO: The state is poised to make sweeping changes in the way it evaluates students and high schools by requiring students to take the ACT, a national college entrance exam. (N&O)

GOODBYE EARL: Hurricane Earl didn't do much damage to the North Carolina coast. (N&O)

North Carolina is among the states facing the worst budget shortfalls next year, according to a report by the National Conference of State Legislatures.

NCSL produced a report looking at where states are expecting to be next year as federal stimulus dollars evaporate. In North Carolina, tax increases adopted last year are set to expire, bringing the projected budget shortfall to more than $3 billion.

Texas, North Carolina, New York and California are projecting deficits greater than $1 billion, according to NCSL.