CARY — Wake County school leaders warned Tuesday that the state’s elimination of funding for driver’s education could endanger public safety and will lead to higher costs for parents and taxpayers to fund the required program.
After the fiscal year ends in June, the General Assembly plans to phase out the $26 million it now provides for driver’s education. But the state is still requiring school systems to offer the program. The school board made restoration of state funding for driver’s education one of the items for state lawmakers’ consideration when the General Assembly reconvenes in January.
“I’m suggesting the legislature honor the bargain struck after the Depression, where the state funds the operation of the schools,” school board member Bill Fletcher said.
Replacing funding for driver’s education is just one of several items that the school board included in its legislative agenda approved on Tuesday. Other items include requests to increase funding for teacher pay, school construction, technology and pre-kindergarten.
“Driver education is fully funded in this year’s budget, and future budgeting decisions on this and other programs have not been made,” state Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger’s office said in a statement Tuesday. “Those conversations will happen as part of the appropriations process when a new General Assembly goes into session next year.”
Under North Carolina’s graduated licensing program for young drivers, driver education class is mandatory for anyone younger than 18 who applies for a learner’s permit. Students get 30 hours of classroom instruction and six hours behind the wheel.
Once they turn 18, teens can get a license without the class by passing Division of Motor Vehicles tests.
State law requires school districts to offer driver’s education to every student in public, private and home-schools in their districts who wants the program. In Wake, 12,000 teens annually go through the district’s program, which is contracted to Jordan Driving School.
“There are other families, 10,000 of them out there right now, waiting to see what decisions we make on this,” school board Chairwoman Christine Kushner said.
Driver’s education used to be free for families. But now districts are allowed to charge a fee to help offset cuts in state funding since 2011.
After July 1, no state funding is set aside. Districts will be allowed to charge as much as $65 per student, $10 more than the current amount. But school officials say that $10 increase won’t offset the $191 per student that the state provides.
Drew Cook, Wake’s senior director for high school programs, said the district plans to charge $65 per student next fiscal year. But to meet demand, he said, school administrators are proposing to budget $2.5 million to run the program.
School board members speculated that the higher cost may cause some teens to not take driver’s education, which they said would affect all drivers. Participation dropped statewide after the program was no longer free.
Devin Tanner, Wake’s coordinating teacher for driver education, said statistics show a higher instance of fatal collisions for people who don’t go through driver’s education.
“Do we really want to see it go away to find out what the consequences might be, whether they’re positive or negative?” Tanner said.
Even though the state cut goes into effect next fiscal year, school officials say they’re holding off on registering new students for April and May because they’re worried they won’t complete the program until after June 30.
Fletcher called driver’s education another example of state leaders shifting responsibility for state-mandated programs to the counties.
“Our public needs to know that there is no other place to get money except sales taxes and property taxes,” he said. “So every transfer that comes through the county has an implication that locally we’re going to be asking our citizens to pay more.”
Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/12/16/4408109_wake-county-schools-warn-about.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy
After the fiscal year ends in June, the General Assembly plans to phase out the $26 million it now provides for driver’s education. But the state is still requiring school systems to offer the program. The school board made restoration of state funding for driver’s education one of the items for state lawmakers’ consideration when the General Assembly reconvenes in January.
“I’m suggesting the legislature honor the bargain struck after the Depression, where the state funds the operation of the schools,” school board member Bill Fletcher said.
Replacing funding for driver’s education is just one of several items that the school board included in its legislative agenda approved on Tuesday. Other items include requests to increase funding for teacher pay, school construction, technology and pre-kindergarten.
“Driver education is fully funded in this year’s budget, and future budgeting decisions on this and other programs have not been made,” state Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger’s office said in a statement Tuesday. “Those conversations will happen as part of the appropriations process when a new General Assembly goes into session next year.”
Under North Carolina’s graduated licensing program for young drivers, driver education class is mandatory for anyone younger than 18 who applies for a learner’s permit. Students get 30 hours of classroom instruction and six hours behind the wheel.
Once they turn 18, teens can get a license without the class by passing Division of Motor Vehicles tests.
State law requires school districts to offer driver’s education to every student in public, private and home-schools in their districts who wants the program. In Wake, 12,000 teens annually go through the district’s program, which is contracted to Jordan Driving School.
“There are other families, 10,000 of them out there right now, waiting to see what decisions we make on this,” school board Chairwoman Christine Kushner said.
Driver’s education used to be free for families. But now districts are allowed to charge a fee to help offset cuts in state funding since 2011.
After July 1, no state funding is set aside. Districts will be allowed to charge as much as $65 per student, $10 more than the current amount. But school officials say that $10 increase won’t offset the $191 per student that the state provides.
Drew Cook, Wake’s senior director for high school programs, said the district plans to charge $65 per student next fiscal year. But to meet demand, he said, school administrators are proposing to budget $2.5 million to run the program.
School board members speculated that the higher cost may cause some teens to not take driver’s education, which they said would affect all drivers. Participation dropped statewide after the program was no longer free.
Devin Tanner, Wake’s coordinating teacher for driver education, said statistics show a higher instance of fatal collisions for people who don’t go through driver’s education.
“Do we really want to see it go away to find out what the consequences might be, whether they’re positive or negative?” Tanner said.
Even though the state cut goes into effect next fiscal year, school officials say they’re holding off on registering new students for April and May because they’re worried they won’t complete the program until after June 30.
Fletcher called driver’s education another example of state leaders shifting responsibility for state-mandated programs to the counties.
“Our public needs to know that there is no other place to get money except sales taxes and property taxes,” he said. “So every transfer that comes through the county has an implication that locally we’re going to be asking our citizens to pay more.”
Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/12/16/4408109_wake-county-schools-warn-about.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy
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