More at Four

Lottery ad touts $1 billion raised

bniolet — Fri, 22 May 2009 15:15:35 -0400

A new television ad produced by the state lottery highlights the money the lottery has raised for education programs.

The ad depicts what appears to be a birthday party. A narrator says:

Something exciting is happening in North Carolina. Something momentous. Something we couldn't have done without you. The N.C. Education Lottery has raised over 1 billion in three years, and that's definitely worth celebrating.

Dome gets a question on this at least once a month, so it's worth repeating where the money goes.

Proceeds — that is the money left over after overhead, the retailer's cut (7 percent) and prize payouts — goes to four specific educational priorities.

How the money breaks down after the jump.

Document(s):
Lottery_money_fy2008.pdf

More at Four worked

bniolet — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:26:17 -0400

More at Four helped Beth Palmer's twins to overcome a speech problem.

Her twin sons were hard for most people to understand. The result is that they were shy and reluctant to be with other children, Palmer, 40, told House members at a budget public hearing.

Palmer, of Raleigh, said her children got help with the speech problem in the More at Four program. The Senate has proposed cutting More at Four, part of a move to eventually merge it with the Smart Start program.

"Since being at More at Four the have blossomed into little chatter boxes," Palmer said.

More-Smart merger alive in House

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 18:07:48 -0400

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.

More at Four would lose $40m in budget

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 09:29:56 -0400

The state's preschool program took a big hit in the Senate budget.

More at Four would lose $40 million — about 25 percent of its money — under the budget tentatively approved Wednesday.

Child care administrators said the More at Four cut would make it difficult to sustain a high-quality preschool program.

Started by former Gov. Mike Easley in 2001, More at Four has the goal of getting at-risk four-year-olds ready for kindergarten. The most recent evaluation showed that about one-fifth of the students spoke little or no English and 90 percent were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.

This year, the budget was $170.6 million, with $84 million coming from lottery proceeds. (N&O)

Preschool programs get high marks

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 09:32:21 -0400

North Carolina's pre-K programs got good grades.

With its More at Four program, it was one of only two states — Alabama was the other — to meet all 10 quality standards for pre-kindergarten programs as set by the National Institute for Early Education Research, Lynn Bonner reports.

The institute, based at Rutgers University in New Jersey, looked at standards for teacher education, student-to-teacher ratios, and class sizes.

The report, which was written before the Senate budget was released Monday, included this observation:

We are concerned that unless funding per child increases in North Carolina, programs will be forced to undercut quality in some other ways (with unreasonably low teacher pay for their qualifications, for example).

The Senate has proposed cutting $40 million from the program and cut the amount it pays per student.

The state began offering More at Four in 2001. The pre-school program is open to children from low-income families or those who have other risk factors, such as educational or developmental delays.

Other cuts in the state budget

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 13:36:58 -0400

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.

Republicans pitch $590m in cuts

bniolet — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 10:40:06 -0400

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).

On the Budget: Ray Rapp

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 18:21:06 -0500

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

On the Budget: Andrew Brock

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 17:14:19 -0500

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

On the Budget: Pete Brunstetter

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 15:23:30 -0500

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