community colleges

McCain backed comm. college bill

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 11:29:51 -0400

John McCain has supported legislation that would enable children of illegal immigrants to attend college, says the campaign of his Democratic opponent, Barack Obama.

McCain has co-sponsored The Dream Act in 2003, 2005, and 2007, which allows high school children of illegal immigrants to obtain permanent residency by attending college or serving in the armed forces, Rob Christensen reports.

During a visit to North Carolina over the week, Obama, an Illinois senator, said he favored allowing the children of illegal immigrants to attend community colleges.

The McCain campaign responded by saying it did not support amnesty or benefits, but did not specifically address the question of who can attend community colleges.

"The McCain campaign is trying to get away with something here," said Paul Cox, an Obama campaign spokesman. "They're trying to make voters think there is a distinction between the two candidates' positions where there is none."

Obama: Keep comm. colleges open

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 08:37:14 -0400

Barack Obama suggested this weekend that children of illegal immigrants should have an opportunity to attend community colleges.

In an interview with WUNC this weekend, the Democratic presidential candidate said children who attend public schools should have the chance to continue to improve themselves.

"For us to deny them access to community college, even though they've never lived in Mexico, at least as far as they can tell ... is to deny that this is how we've always built this country up," he said.

The campaign of Republican John McCain issued a statement saying he was opposed to providing benefits to illegal immigrants, but did not address community college attendance, which has been a contentious issue in North Carolina.

"John McCain does not support amnesty or benefits for undocumented immigrants," his campaign said in the statement. "He has consistently opposed giving amnesty or public benefits to undocumented immigrants." (N&O)

Lt. governor candidates debate

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 08:48:00 -0400

The three candidates for lieutenant governor outlined very different plans at a debate Wednesday.

Democratic state Sen. Walter Dalton said he would raise the compulsory education age to 18, expand access to health care and continue to promote entrepreneurship programs.

Former Republican state Sen. Robert Pittenger said he would pay school teachers based on merit not tenure, reduce medical malpractice litigation and cut the personal income tax rate.

And Libertarian Phillip Rhodes, a first-time candidate, said he would increase competition in schools with a voucher program, end state government's involvement in mental health care and eliminate many government regulations on business.

Dalton and Pittenger said they do not support allowing illegal immigrants at the state's community colleges. Rhodes said they should pay out of state tuition. (N&O)

Protzman to Perdue: Don't call

bkrueger — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 13:08:53 -0400

While the move today to bar illegal immigrants from North Carolina community colleges won praise from groups like Americans for Legal Immigration PAC, it drew a rebuke from the left for Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue.

Perdue, the Democratic nominee for governor, made the motion to ban illegal immigrants from community colleges while a study is being done on the issue.

The motion, approved by the State Board of Community Colleges, was a reversal from Thursday, when officials indicated they were inclined to admit illegal immigrants pending the outcome of the study.

That drew the following response to Perdue from James Protzman at BlueNC:

I'm sure you and your staff agonized about whether to sell out poor brown people for political advantage, but agony or not, you came down on the wrong side of an important moral issue. Which makes your campaign irrelevant to me. Don't bother calling. Don't bother writing. Don't bother me at all. You don't need progressives, and progressives don't need you. I'm heading for Mike Munger.

Alliance proposal mimics Perdue plans

ryanteaguebeckwith — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 12:36:30 -0400

The Alliance for North Carolina has released an economic plan.

The 527 organization, which is running an ad attacking Republican gubernatorial candidate Pat McCrory, issued a 12-point plan to improve the North Carolina economy today.

For the most part, the proposals are in line with Democratic candidate Beverly Perdue's platform, though the Alliance's goals are pitched at a more general level.

Among the points of agreement:

Minimum Wage: The Alliance calls for raising the minimum wage "to a level that better enables workers to fully provide for their families." Perdue has called for raising it by a dollar.

Military Jobs: The Alliance calls for expanding the state's "economic leadership" in military jobs. Perdue helped create a nonprofit that lobbies for defense spending.

Free Community College: The Alliance calls for making community college free. Perdue has proposed waiving tuition for graduates of state high schools.

"We hope that public officials and policy makers throughout North Carolina will discuss and comment on our 12-point economic plan," said Alliance spokesman Scott Falmlen in a statement. "Our goal is to stimulate discussion — pro and con — and we encourage people everywhere in the state to join this discussion."

The full plan after the jump.

Closing doors to illegal immigrants

bkrueger — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 12:02:54 -0400

Leaders of the state's community colleges voted today to close their doors to illegal immigrants until they complete a study and come up with a permanent policy.

The decision today by the State Board of Community Colleges marks a reversal from Thursday, when officials indicated they were inclined to admit illegal immigrants pending the outcome of the study, reports Lynn Bonner.

Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue, the Democratic candidate for governor, made the motion to ban illegal immigrants from community colleges while the study is ongoing.

Leaders of Americans for Legal Immigration PAC were quick to praise the board's move.

"The vast majority of NC's legal citizenry do not want illegal aliens in the limited seats of our colleges," William Gheen of ALIPAC said in a statement. "We are happy the board upheld the ban so the campaigns for public office and eventually the state legislature can take up this issue."

Bill would cut funding for colleges

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 08:33:15 -0400

U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick has announced a bill that would cut federal funding from colleges and universities that knowingly admit illegal immigrants.

The Charlotte Republican has made immigration central to her re-election campaign, and she said recent developments in North Carolina led her to push for clarity on the issue.

She said the bill, which will be introduced in September, would not target student loans, but would focus on federal money that goes to the schools.

"We can't just wink at (the problem) and pretend it doesn't exist," she said. "Illegal is illegal." (Char-O)

Meantime, the State Board of Community Colleges will meet today to discuss whether illegal immigrants should be allowed to attend the state's 58 community colleges. (N&O)

Construction up, taxes postponed in budget

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:44:03 -0400

House and Senate leaders reached agreement on a $21.3 billion budget proposal by postponing two tax breaks and greatly increasing borrowing for construction projects at UNC campuses, state prisons and other state facilities.

"We think this is a very good budget, a budget that in tough times still keeps us moving in North Carolina in a number of ways," said House Speaker Joe Hackney, an Orange County Democrat, Dan Kane reports.

The agreement calls for no tax increases and includes modest pay raises for teachers and state employees. Teachers, UNC professors and community college instructors would receive an average increase of three percent, though beginning teachers would fare better, in deference to a request from Gov. Mike Easley.

All other state employees would receive the greater of a 2.75 percent or $1,100 increase. Retirees would receive a 2.2 percent cost of living adjustment.

They dropped a Senate provision that would have given Easley the opportunity to further boost teacher pay in the fall if revenues improved beyond expectations. Hackney said there was little chance that would happen, given the sinking economy.

More after the jump.

Brooks names goals in labor race

ryanteaguebeckwith — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 15:09:48 -0400

John C. Brooks says he would be a progressive labor commissioner.

The candidate for the Democratic nomination and former longtime commissioner says he has three top goals if elected to the office:

1. Boost OSHA staff. Brooks would ask the legislature to double the size of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration program, which inspects workplaces. He says the staff is "miserably small" and would take 130 years to inspect each existing business one time.

2. Start a skills academy. He would start a four-year residential college focused on training workers for high-skilled manufacturing jobs beyond the community college level. He would ask the University of North Carolina system to run it, similar to an existing biotech center run by N.C. State.

3. Work with national labor lawyers. A lawyer, Brooks says he would join the American Bar Association's working group on labor law, which has been a leading voice on workplace reforms in recent years. He notes that neither his Democratic opponent, Mary Fant Donnan, or incumbent Republican Cherie Berry could join since they do not have law degrees.

House wants study on financial aid

janestancill — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 17:46:02 -0400

The House budget proposal calls for a study to find ways to improve financial aid for community college students.

The budget includes a provision calling for a study by a legislative education committee, with particular emphasis on how to better serve adult working students and how to increase the number of community colleges that participate in federal student loan programs.

The provision echoes recommendations by the N.C. Center for Public Policy Research, which last month released a report calling for better financial aid at the state's 58 community colleges. The report quoted a national study that ranked North Carolina third-worst in the country because only 47 percent of the state's community college students have access to federal student loan programs.

Only 23 of 58 community colleges now offer their needy students low-interest federal loans. Those that don't participate in the loan programs fear they'll lose all federal financial aid if too many of their students default on loans. The center recommended that all colleges create loan default prevention programs.