Perdue’s pre-k funding plan draws criticism

Lawmakers are running out of time to act on a new plan submitted by Gov. Bev Perdue to enroll thousands of children in North Carolina pre-kindergarten next year.

More than $30 million was cut from Pre-K education during this summer's budget battle.

Perdue now says there's a way to restore that funding without putting the budget out of balance or raising taxes.

Pat Porter's been running the Early Learning Center in South Charlotte for eight years.

She used to have three Pre-K classes, but last year she had to cut two of those classes and lay off two teachers.

"Pre-K prepares the students to be successful in school. So it’s very important that kids at risk have that foundation," Porter said.

Perdue wants to restore $30 million to the Pre-K program by using money that hasn't yet been earmarked for other programs and by taking millions of dollars out of the state's Emergency Fund.

"The kids are our future, regardless if you have a child or not, one day one of these students may be a doctor, or lawyer, or teacher. So we're looking at the future," Porter said.

But Republican lawmakers argue it's an inappropriate use of emergency fund money. They point out the legislature already approved the budget over the governor's veto.

"Is there a clear mandate to do this? And we don't believe there is," said Rep. Bill Brawley, R-Mecklenburg County.

Brawley said half of the state's budget already goes towards education.

"We can't respond to every request with as much money as everybody wants. There's just not enough money to do that," he said.

Porter said she has open classroom space and believes it’s a worthwhile cause to spend money to give at-risk children a helping hand.

The legislature is out of session for the rest of the year, so lawmakers would have to approve the governor's plan during special committee meetings.

So far this month, there hasn't been any movement in getting the funding approved.