TO: Members of the Press
FROM: Ford Porter, Governor’s Deputy Communications Director
DATE: July 25, 2019
RE: Wayne County School Funding Questions for Speaker Moore
Members of the media,
This morning, Speaker Moore is joining legislators to tour Rosewood Elementary in Goldsboro and highlight the need for school construction funds. The failure of legislative Republicans to adequately invest in new school construction is one of the primary reasons Governor Cooper vetoed their budget.
The Republican budget promises an unguaranteed $19.1 million for school construction in Wayne County, with no assurance that projects ever be completed. Governor Cooper’s proposed compromise would provide $28.2 million in Wayne County and would guarantee funding for new school construction.
Here’s why:
Legislative Republicans budget creates a State Capital Infrastructure Fund that siphons 4% of the budget away from other priorities to school construction, without guaranteeing that projects ever be completed. This plan doesn’t meet capital needs in communities across the state, doesn’t allow local leaders to plan long-term, and forces cuts in other areas.
Governor Cooper proposed a responsible bond that takes advantage of historically low interest rates to provide more funding for school construction and guarantee that local projects would be funded. Speaker Moore actually supported a similar bond earlier in this year.
Seventeen days ago, Governor Cooper offered a compromise that combined a reduced SCIF with a bond, that still provides more school construction funds for communities across the state – including more than $9 million in additional funding to Wayne County.
It’s important to ask Speaker Moore and legislative Republicans:
- If you agree that school construction is a priority, why don’t you support a plan that would provide more than $9 million more in Wayne County?
- Why have you refused to provide a counter offer to Governor Cooper’s budget proposal?
- Will you negotiate with Governor Cooper to provide more funding for school construction in Wayne County and across the state?