Tag search result

Eight legislators and a handful of state education officials are headed to Singapore in about a week to see what that country does right in math and science education.

The trip will be the second delegation to Singapore in the ten years that the Public School Forum of North Carolina and UNC’s Center for International Understanding have been sending lawmakers and policy shapers to look at other country’s schools, Mark Johnson reports.

The last three trips: Ireland, China and, now, Singapore, have all focused on nations where education and economic development are closely aligned, said John Dornan, the forum’s president.

"Out of nine countries we’ve not seen anybody do what Singapore has done," Dornan said.

Students in Singapore consistently score among the best students in the world in math and science.

The lawmakers headed overseas are Reps. Marvin Lucas of Cumberland county; Tricia Cotham of Charlotte; Tim Moore of Cleveland County; Earline Parmon of Winston-Salem and Sens. Debbie Clary of Cleveland County; John Snow of Cherokee County; Bob Atwater of Chatham County and Ed Jones of Halifax County.

State school board Chairman Bill Harrison and Scott Rawls, president of the N.C. Community College System also are going.

The trip is being funded primarily by a grant from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund with additional money from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, GlaxoSmithKline and SAS. A Glaxo official is joining the trip.

Rep. Earl Jones called a news conference Tuesday to announce his longshot effort to legalize and regulate video gambling has new endorsements.

The Black Caucus and the State Employees Association of North Carolina support the bill, which would take for the state 20 cents for every dollar spent on video poker machines. Dropping video gambling machines in bars, convenience stores and other establishments across the state could raise nearly $500 million in new revenue, Jones said.

And perhaps anticpating arguments about proliferating gambling across the state, Jones repeatedly stated his opinion that video gaming is no different than the lottery.

"Gambling activity is gambling activity, whether you're talking about a video lottery or a scratch-off ticket," said Jones, a Greensboro Democrat.

Dana Cope, present of SEANC, which represents 55,000 public employees, said the new revenue would allow the state to continue to provide needed services.

"North Carolina's government made this decision. We as a public made this decision when we voted to support the lottery in North Carolina," Cope said. "This is just the natural progression to regulate this industry to get that revenue income into the coffers of the state."

Video poker machines have left a legacy of corruption in the state. William Thevaos, president of the Entertainment Group of North Carolina, said the fact that the industry wants regulation and taxation shows that things will be different.

"We want to be taxed. We want to be legal," Thevaos said. "We want to create a new industry and we want to work with the state."

More after the jump.

Recent House bills of note:

H.B. 661: City Managers on School Boards, Rep. Ray Warren

H.B. 677: Require a "First in Flight" Background, Reps. Lucy Allen, Lorene Coates, Nelson Cole and Becky Carney

H.B. 691: State Contracts/Slavery Profits, Reps. Larry Womble, Earl Jones, Annie Mobley and Earline Parmon

H.B. 708: Furlough of State Employees, Reps. Ray Rapp, Rick Glazier and Margaret Dickson

H.B. 711: Sales Tax Fairness Act, Reps. Winkie Wilkins and Dale Folwell

H.B. 724: Open Records Attorneys' Fees, Reps. George Cleveland and Curtis Blackwood

Some recent House bills of note:

H.B. 433: Change Corporate Income Tax, Rep. Harold Brubaker

H.B. 442: Parental Involvement in School Discipline, Reps. Martha Alexander, Susan Fisher, Rick Glazier and Earline Parmon

H.B. 443: Increase Class Size in the Public Schools, Reps. Paul Stam and Laura Wiley

H.B. 453: Increase Cig. Tax/Proceeds to MHTF, Reps. Verla Insko, Beverly Earle and Alexander

H.B. 494: Superior Court Judge May Perform Marriage, Reps. William Wainwright, Dan Blue and Garland Pierce

H.B. 504: Tax Credit for Energy-Efficient Homes, Reps. Fisher, Pricey Harrison, Bruce Goforth and Ruth Samuelson

Recent House bills of note:

H.B. 370: Salary of Secretary-Health and Human Services, Rep. Verla Insko

H.B. 388: Campaign Disclosure, Reps. Beverly Earle, Earline Parmon, Marvin Lucas and Becky Carney

H.B. 390: Poultry Worker Protection, Reps. Earle and Insko

H.B. 397: Conscience Protection/Contraceptive Coverage, Rep. Mark Hilton

H.B. 399: U.S. Senate Vacancies, Rep. John Blust

H.B. 409: Annual Archeology Reports, Rep. Ronnie Sutton

H.B. 413: Limit Legislators to Four Consecutive Terms, Rep. Johnathan Rhyne

About three dozen House members, including Speaker Joe Hackney, appeared at a news conference Tuesday in support of continuing a grant program aimed at curbing high school dropouts.

The program was approved in 2007 and devoted $22 million over two years to grants. In that time, the Department of Public Instruction handed out 140 grants to school districts, nonprofit organizations and government agencies. Each award came with strings -- the recipient must show they are making good use of the money.

Hackney said he does not yet know how much money will be available to expand the program, but he said the grants are still needed. Three out of 10 high school students leave before graduation and the current economic crisis makes it even tougher for dropouts to find work and have a future, he said.

"We cannot allow them to consign themselves to lifetimes of poverty and uncertainty because of something that happens when they are teenagers," Hackney said.

State Reps. Susan Fisher, an Asheville Democrat and Earline Parmon, a Winston-Salem Democrat will run the bill through the House, Hackney said.

Parmon said that money spent to keep a student in school avoids future costs for unemployment, prison space and food stamps.

"It will save us down the road," Parmon said.

A few more House bills from this afternoon:

H.B. 159: Taxpayer Bill of Rights, Reps. John Blust, Mitchell Setzer, Bryan Holloway

H.B. 161: Require Six-Year-Olds to Attend School, Reps. Rick Glazier, Angela Bryant, Earline Parmon and Ray Rapp

H.B. 162: Elec. Record Interrogation / B1, B2, C Felony, Reps. Glazier, Dan Blue and Deborah Ross

Some interesting bills filed in the House recently:

H.B. 120: Public Municipal Campaigns, Reps. Rick Glazier, Melanie Wade Goodwin, Pricey Harrison and Winkie Wilkins

H.B. 123: Death Penalty / Proportionality Review, Reps. Glazier, Dan Blue, Deborah Ross and Earline Parmon

H.B. 125: Raise the Cap on Charter Schools, Reps. Jim Gulley, Marilyn Avila and Ric Killian

H.B. 126: Eliminate the Cap on Charter Schools, Reps. Gulley, Avila, Killian and Nelson Dollar

H.B. 128: Authorize Grandfather Mountain as State Park, Reps. Phil Frye, Edgar Starnes and Cullie Tarleton

Who's in the Legislative Black Caucus?

Started in 1983, the nonprofit group of black lawmakers discusses common issues in the legislature, holds an annual conference and runs a foundation.

It currently has 21 members in the 120-member House and nine in the 50-member Senate.

Though members of the group do not agree on all issues, they have enough clout to help deliver — or block — a closely contested bill in the legislature.

Some members of the black caucus could play a key role in a smoking ban this year.

Though the majority of the caucus voted for a similar ban in 2007, the handful who didn't helped defeat it. Of those who voted against it, Reps. Beverly Earle, Earl Jones, Mickey Michaux and Earline Parmon are still in office.

Rep. Ty Harrell was absent, while Reps. Pearl Burris-Floyd, Elmer Floyd, Sandra Spaulding Hughes and Nick Mackey were not in office then.

A full list after the jump.

Several more House bills were filed this afternoon:

H.B. 21: Eugenics Program - Support and Education, Reps. Larry Womble, Ronnie Sutton, Earline Parmon and Martha Alexander

H.B. 22: Enhance Youth Employment Protections, Reps. Jennifer Weiss, Melanie Wade Goodwin, Paul Luebke, Angela Bryant

H.B. 23: Strengthen Child Labor Violation Penalties, Reps. Weiss, Luebke, Bryant and Goodwin

H.B. 24: Funds for Cochlear Implants / CASTLE, Rep. Verla Insko

H.B. 25: Clarify SCFAC Appointments, Rep. Insko

H.B. 26: Stay Beach Plan Rates, Deductible Surcharges, Reps. Timothy Spear, Carolyn Justice