The budget proposal would reduce Medicaid provider rates to save $76 million. The budget would also:

* Cut funding for community support services in the Division of Medical Assistance by $65 million.

* Reduce funding for the Smart Start early childhood program by $16 million.

* Eliminate 350 positions within the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services to save $12.9 million.

* Cut funding to local mental health services providers by $3 million.

* Reduce funds by $8.5 million for services that are not core to the mental health division.

* Reduce state funding for services provided through local providers by $40 million.

More after the jump.

   Comments (1)

Months before the state Senate proposed reshaping More at Four and Smart Start through budget cuts, the big buzz concerning the early childhood programs was about merging the two agencies.

The Senate lightning bolt hasn't killed the merger idea in the House, Lynn Bonner reports.

One of its architects, Rep. Ray Rapp, is holding a news conference Wednesday featuring Dr. Olson Huff, a pediatrician and big Smart Start champion.

Rapp, the primary sponsor of House Bill 539, proposes moving More at Four from the state Department of Public Instruction to the state Department of Health and Human Services. DHHS would work to merge More at Four with the N.C. Partnership for Children, which oversees Smart Start.

At least one local partnership director thinks it's a good move, but others agree with state education CEO Bill Harrison, that the state should study a merger first.

What else would be cut in the state budget?

In a presentation today, Gov. Beverly Perdue proposed a number of cuts across state government:

* Delay state funding by delaying the adoption of math textbooks for grades 6 through 12 in order to save $38 million.

* Freeze teacher and state employee longevity payments for two years to save $170 million. The change would not affect employees' retirement calculations.

* Reduce legislative tuition grants, which give students money to go to private colleges in the state by $3.7 million, consistent with cuts the state's universities.

* Reduce funding by for child advocacy centers, foster care and adoption assistance, child support enforcement and education support for children adopted after age 12 to save $6.5 million.

* Reduce funding to Gov. Mike Easley's early education program More at Four by $1 million. The cuts won't affect children, since they eliminate funding for hundreds of unfilled slots.

* Reduce state funding to Gov. Jim Hunt's Smart Start early education program by $8.9 million.

Legislative Republican leaders outlined cuts in spending Tuesday that could send more than $590 million back to the state's coffers.

Senate Republican Leader Phil Berger of Eden and House Republican Leader Paul Stam of Apex said the biggest savings — $300 million a year — would come from increasing class sizes in public schools by two students. That would bring the average class size to 23, they said.

Stam and Berger said there is no guarantee that smaller classes make for better schools. They repeated skepticism about Gov. Beverly Perdue's proposal to increase spending on education when the state is facing a deficit of more than $3 billion.

"It's an intuitively happy thought that your child is in a smaller class," Stam said. "It's hugely expensive."

Other proposals the leaders highlighted would purchase software to avoid improper Medicaid payments ($100 million in savings), suspend $100 million funding of the Clean Water Management Trust Fund (which Perdue has already proposed) and end the state's $80 million appropriation to the Golden LEAF Foundation.

Stam said that consolidating Gov. Jim Hunt's Smart Start and Gov. Mike Easley's More at Four early education programs could save something on the order of $10 million.

Stam said that Perdue would be welcome to put her name on the new, combined program.

"She can call it the 'Perdue Phenomenal Program,' and we can save some money," Stam said.

That name, of course, doesn't rhyme (although it is alliterative).

Rep. Ray Rapp
Mars Hill Democrat
Fourth Term

What two things would you cut in the state budget? He said he is working with others on the House education budget committee to look at "how we might combine More at Four into Smart Start."

The state has the opportunity to cut overhead while providing for continuity in pre-school programs, he said.

The legislature asked for an examination of all school funding formulas. The state has funds for disadvantaged students, low-wealth schools and a small school fund that includes 81 systems, he said.

There are some cases "where we've piled money on money."

Are there any taxes you would be in favor of increasing? Sin taxes, where the revenue is used for health programs. "Sen. (Marc) Basnight has raised that. That has to be looked at."

— Lynn Bonner 

Sen. Andrew Brock
Mocksville Republican
Fourth Term

What two things would you cut in the state budget? He said the administration of More at Four and Smart Start could be consolidated.

Are there any taxes you would be in favor of increasing? "This is not a good time to raise taxes on individuals or businesses."

— Lynn Bonner 

Sen. Pete Brunstetter
Winston-Salem Republican
Second Term

What two things would you cut in the state budget? "I'm not a big fan of the More at Four program," Brunstetter said. "I don't think it has had the impact that justifies the cost."

He added that there needs to be some consideration of merging More at Four with Smart Start, another pre-school program.

Are there any taxes you would be in favor of increasing? He said he would favor a reduction in the state income tax, to recruit more industry. It could also bring in more revenue, because some companies are reporting income in other states rather in North Carolina.

— Rob Christensen 

Sen. Jean Preston
Carteret County Republican
Ninth Term

What two things would you cut in the state budget? "Maybe we could combine More at Four and Smart Start, because when we added More at Four, a lot of constituents in my district said we are already serving a lot of four year olds."
She also said job training programs should be looked at for possible duplication of services.

Are there any taxes you would be in favor of increasing? "No."

— Dan Kane 

Former Gov. Jim Hunt says we can take him off the list of potential education secretaries in Barack Obama's administration.

Hunt says he'll advise Obama on education, but he has no interest in going to Washington, reports Lynn Bonner.

Hunt's name has appeared on several lists of potential education secretaries, including in Time and The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Hunt called Dome on his way back from a three-day stay in Seattle, where he attended a Gates Foundation meeting on education. Obama education advisors attended, including the leaders of Obama’s education advisory board.

"I just spent several days with the top Obama people," Hunt said. "Many encouraged me to do it. I told them I would not go to Washington."

Still, Hunt said he expects to work closely with the U.S. education department from his base in North Carolina.

More after the jump.

   Comments (0)

Former Gov. Jim Hunt will talk about national education policy for the new Obama administration when he accepts an education award this month.

N.C. State University's College of Education will give Hunt, the four-term governor who started Smart Start, its Friday Medal on Nov. 19, Lynn Bonner reports.

The medal, named for former UNC president William Friday and his wife Ida, is awarded each year to education innovators.

Hunt continued to be active in education after he left office in 2000.

He served on the federal Commission on the Future of Higher Education assembled by President Bush's education secretary. He is chairman of the board and a founder of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, a California-based think tank. He also serves as board chairman of the James B. Hunt Jr. Institute for Educational Leadership and Policy at UNC, which works on improving  K-12 education in the United States.

Is this a speech or a job interview? Discuss.