The Voice of Homeschoolers in North Carolina Have Been Heard! (Part 2)

I've not been able to blog lately because a massively increased work load, but I had to take time out for this. (By the way, there is much talk below about "budget," but recently NC legislature gave millions of dollars away to several companies/organizations - some of which did not ask for it or want it! Hmmm ...)

Click here for Part 1

This was originally posted by the great folks at NCHE
(http://www.nche.com/alert.html)

In an official statement today, Governor Easley's senior fiscal advisor said that the proposal to move the Division of Non-Public Education under the Department of Public Instruction is no longer part of the governor's budget, saying it was "not an appropriate solution".

On Wednesday, advisor Dan Gerlach met with several representatives from NCHE, the N.C. Christian Schools Association, and the N.C. Association of Independent Schools, along with Secretary of Administration Gwynn Swinson and DNPE Director Rod Helder.

Apologizing for "insensitivity" to the history and concerns of the non-public education community, Gerlach said that the proposal was an attempt to find additional funding for DNPE staff to address the growing homeschool community. In the written statement, he stressed that "[the] expansion in staff is NOT due to any desire on the part of anyone in the Administration nor DPI to change policy, but to deal with [the] increased responsibilities and caseload".

"The Easley Administration will not push the proposal further to transfer the Division to DPI, " the statement reads, concluding that "the Governor's Office will inform legislators that the proposal to shift the Division to DPI is no longer part of our budget proposal and is not an appropriate solution" to financing issues in the Department of Administration.

NCHE thanks every homeschooler who wrote, called, and otherwise supported our effort to intercept this proposal early in the process. Your quick and respectful response impressed legislators and helped them understand the importance of keeping private educational options independent of the public school authorities.

However, the budget process is only beginning, and NCHE will continue to monitor the situation until it is concluded several weeks from now. We are committed to protecting your right to homeschool in North Carolina, and we appreciate your prayers, encouragement, and support.

The complete statement from the Governor's Office is posted below:

Letter from Governor's Office,
received this afternoon, April 8, 2005

From: Dan Gerlach
Date: Friday, April 8, 2005

As I promised, here is my recapitulation of Wednesday's meeting that included representatives from North Carolinians for Home Education, the North Carolina Christian School Association, and the North Carolina Association of Independent Schools, Secretary Gwynn Swinson, DNPE Director Rod Helder, and General Counsel Brooks Skinner from the Department of Administration, and Dan Gerlach (myself) from the Governor's Office.

First, many thanks to everyone for taking time from their busy schedules to travel to Raleigh to share their views on the Division of Nonpublic Education. It was a fruitful, constructive meeting from the Administration's perspective.

I explained that the proposal to transfer the Division of Nonpublic Education from Department of Administration to the Department of Public Instruction was a budget-driven, not a policy-driven, proposal.

Early in the budget process, the Department of Administration made an expansion budget request - that is, a request for more money - for staff and related expenses for the Division of Nonpublic Education. The Division has three full-time people and staff has not increased, despite new responsibilities (such as the driving eligibility certificate program introduced in 1998) and substantial growth in the number of North Carolinians choosing nonpublic alternatives to educate their children, notably home schooling. The number of home schools has increased from 8,171 in 1995-96 to 28,746 in 2003-04. The budget request was for roughly $150,000.

In recent years, the state budget has been tight and most agencies have had responsibilities increased with no new dollars. This is not a sustainable trend. Any new funding for some areas has come from cuts in other areas.

The Department of Administration has two main functions: a) to undertake the General Services functions of government - maintain state property, oversee state construction, take care of the motor vehicle pool, provide utilities, etc and b) provide the home for a variety of functions that do not fit easily in other departments such as Division of Nonpublic Education, Veterans Affairs, Advocacy for People with Disabilities, Indian Affairs, etc. Budget cuts have come all from the general services side, as policymakers do not want to cut funding for the divisions that serve constituencies that are growing.

Frankly, the Department now has shortfalls in some of its general services areas and more cannot be reduced without jeopardizing core services.

For this reason, our thought was to move to the Division of Nonpublic Education to DPI. DPI is a much larger agency, and we felt that it would be easier to find and redeploy existing resources there to help administer the current law. The expansion in staff is NOT due to any desire on the part of anyone in the Administration nor DPI to change policy, but to deal with increased responsibilities and caseload described above.

Obviously, this decision to advance this proposal has caused substantial concern. I confess to insensitivity to this concern, and apologize for it. The decision was a budget one, not pushed by Sec. Swinson nor by DPI.

The Easley Administration will not push the proposal further to transfer the Division to DPI. At the request of several who attended the meeting, I have personally communicated this already to Sen. David Hoyle, a key legislator on the General Government Appropriations Subcommittee. Sen. Hoyle agrees that the transfer should not be done.

But the status quo of 3 staff is not sustainable, nor can Sec. Swinson's department find the money elsewhere in her department.

We discussed several ways to improve efficiency - including use of web-based solutions, the use of the nonpublic organizations to disseminate information, and so forth - and ways to increase resources - including examination of policies used in other states and the possibility of legislative support for additional appropriations. The nonpublic school organizations agreed to think about solutions to the current challenge. All the nonpublic school organizations agreed that the transfer to DPI was not appropriate.

There was discussion about ways to keep dialogue open and increase input from the nonpublic school community, and we welcome that dialogue. Many concerned citizens shared their views with the Governor's Office and the Department of Administration two weeks ago, and we appreciate hearing from taxpayers about their concerns because this is America and people have a right to speak out on issues important to them.

There was also discussion about the good job that the Division does right now and that the current law is one of the better ones in the nation.

To sum, the Governor's Office will inform legislators that the proposal to shift the Division to DPI is no longer part of our budget proposal and is not an appropriate solution, the nonpublic school organizations will offer input on how to ensure that the current law can be carried out effectively and efficiently, and we will all keep lines of communication open.

Again, we are grateful for your time.

Dan Gerlach
Senior Advisor for Fiscal Affairs
Office of the Governor