Wake schools superintendent unveils $1.25B budget

Wake County schools Superintendent Tony Tata on Tuesday unveiled a $1.25 billion operating budget for the 2012-13 school year, a $24.3 million decrease from 2011-12. Despite the leaner budget, he said, he doesn’t anticipate any layoffs. “We do not propose cutting any people,” Tata said. “We’re down to the bone, we believe, on personnel.” The [...]

State school board prepares to vote on charter school proposals

The North Carolina Board of Education will vote Thursday on how many charter school proposals to approve for the fall after a state law capping the number at 100 was repealed last year. The state has narrowed the field from 27 applications for proposed schools to nine, three of whichare in the Triangle. State education [...]

UNC’s Friday Center considers expanding services for seniors

The Friday Center at the University of North Carolina is considering how it can better serve a growing senior citizen population after the state stopped providing free non-credit classes in the UNC system to people over 65. Director Rob Bruce said Wednesday that the Friday Center has been tracking baby boomers and retirees moving to [...]

Parents: Wake bus changes would disrupt morning for students, volunteers

Wake County school officials said Tuesday that they have already received more than 6,000 comments from parents on a proposal that would change bus schedules and reduce the numbers of routes. The Wake County Public School System posted the survey on its website last week to gather public comment on the changes proposed for the [...]

Johnston high school offers freshmen FAST track to success

The transition between middle school and high school can be difficult for many students, and failing classes as a freshman increases the likelihood that a student will drop out. To help struggling ninth graders, Smithfield Selma High School has started a new program to help students get back on track without losing a year. “Research [...]

GOP House leader: Perdue’s proposed sales tax hike ‘political’

Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue said this week that she plans to propose a temporary .75-cent sales tax increase in her next budget to restore some of the education cuts made by the Republican-controlled General Assembly. The announcement Tuesday has drawn ire from state GOP leaders, including House Majority Leader Paul Stam who said Friday that [...]