RALEIGH — Leaders in the North Carolina House and Senate announced Sunday that they have reached agreement on a $20.6 billion budget that will end teacher tenure and allow taxpayer money to be spent for private school tuition.
Highlights of the budget
negotiated by the Republican majority were issued in a news release.
Both chambers have
previously passed their own spending plans, but Republican leaders wrangled for
weeks to come to a consensus even as the July 1 start of the 2013-2014 fiscal
year came and went.
The budget increases
overall state spending by 2.5 percent while instituting tax cuts for
corporations and individuals. The plan scraps the longstanding teacher tenure
system in favor of employing educators on contracts that are renewed based on
performance reviews. The budget also would allow families that meet income
guidelines to get state money to pay private school tuition starting in 2014.
"Republicans in the
General Assembly have produced a state budget that reduces taxes and
right-sizes state government," said House Speaker Thom Tillis,
R-Mecklenburg, according to the release. "This budget is another crucial
step in putting North Carolina's fiscal house in order."
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