Will state eliminate Easley funding?

Doug Clark games the next steps for Mary Easley.

The Greensboro News-Record columnist says it "takes a lot of nerve" for the former First Lady to publicly refuse requests to resign.

So, what to do? She simply can't stay in defiance of university leaders. State will have to eliminate her position, maybe her entire program, in a "budget move." It may require some settlement of her contract. "Private" funds will be used to spare the taxpayers. Question: Is there anyone in North Carolina willing to donate money to the Easleys anymore? 

Update: Senate Republican Leader Phil Berger, of Eden, said the legislature may have to take away the funding for her position.

"The ongoing embarrassment to the state, the university system, and N.C. State University regarding the circumstances of Mary Easley’s hiring and continued employment needs to come to an end," Berger said. "If Gov. [Beverly] Perdue cannot prevail upon her fellow Democrats to do the honorable thing, it will become necessary to eliminate state funding for Mary Easley’s position."