Lack of Education: Infuriating

They do this all the time.

When budget cuts come, and they almost always do come, people make it sound like the whole frackin’ world is about to end.

As if ALL of us don’t, every single day, make budget decisions of our own in our private lives.

But jeepers, and I mean JEEPERS, why oh why do they report it like it’s a surprise?

Look, every state, almost without exception, is in trouble.  North Carolina is in bad shape, worse than most.  And the education budget is going to have to take a hit:

RALEIGH — Newly released figures Monday show that the Wake County school system would lose hundreds of teachers and possibly the vast majority of its teacher assistants if suggested state budget cuts come to pass.

The state Department of Public Instruction was asked by Gov. Bev Perdue to detail how it would cut funding by 5 percent and 10 percent to help close a $3.5 billion revenue shortfall next year. A 5 percent cut to Wake, or $51.6 million, would cost the state’s largest school system 429 classroom teachers and 73 instructional support positions.

Look.  We get it.  We KNOW that the budget situation is grim.  We KNOW that cuts are going to have to be made.  But why are we reporting only the teaching cuts?  Are there more and other places we’re trimming the education budget or is it only teachers?

Further, how did we get into this situation?  Did we grow too fast?  Are we shrinking faster?  Did tax money evaporate?  What exactly happened?

…programs could be cut to deal with the loss of more than $100 million in state and federal funding.

Oh.  You mean we received some Federal stimulus funds for one year and now we have to face not having those monies in our budget?

Yeah.

THAT is not a cut.  That is realizing that we had a one time bonus to our funds that we should have KNOWN not to count on.

But whatever.