North Carolina’s budget impasse has continued to create funding obstacles for programs that rely on the state.
The North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics is one of the newest causalities of the $24 billion budget battle that has stalled or crippled secondary education, school construction, teacher pay raises, elderly care and in-home care for children with disabilities.
The opening of North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics’ new campus was scheduled for August 2021 in Morganton, but it has been postponed for a year because of the absence of an operating fund, school officials announced Friday.
The residential school, which focuses on STEM education, is the only one of its kind in the nation, according to its website.
“Given the realities presented by the state budget impasse, the only option to avoid confusion and disappointment to the hundreds of students and families who may apply, and to the state and regional partners gearing up to support school operation, is to delay the first residential class by one academic year until August 2022,” the school’s chancellor, Todd Roberts, said in a statement.
Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed the state’s budget a few days ahead of the fiscal year, which started on July 1. The House overrode Cooper’s veto in September, but after a one-week session in January, lawmakers have yet to move or come to a consensus, leaving both chambers of the General Assembly empty and North Carolinians who rely on the coffers hanging by a string.
Construction of the Morganton school has been able to continue because of $58 million from the 2016 Connect NC Bond, $15 million approved by the Legislature in 2018 and $8.3 million from private fundraising. Yet, without operating funds, school officials cannot hire or train the staff it needs to function. About $4.2 million in startup costs was written into the vetoed spending bill, Roberts said.
Sen. Warren Daniel, R-Burke, whose district includes Morganton, blames the governor for the delay.
Cooper vetoed the budget because it failed to expand Medicaid coverage for more residents and fulfill his proposal for teacher pay raises, among other things.
“The victims of his ill-advised Medicaid-expansion-or-nothing ultimatum are piling up, and students and teachers all across the state are suffering the consequences,” Daniel said.
Cooper’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Families in need of home-health-support services also have been on standby, the News & Observer reports. The budget included $22 million for 1,000 Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services Waivers for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities.
The budget reportedly also has affected many services for seniors and the elderly. North Carolina Health News reports that meal, fitness and nutrition programs created to benefit older residents have been strained because of the trapped funding.
