David N. Bass

Published February 26, 2007, on CarolinaJournal.com

RALEIGH — Faced with the threat of forced conversion to a year-round public school schedule in Wake County, Cary resident Linda Hayduk and her husband are taking matters into their own hands by leaving the county rather than allow the reassignment to split their family apart.

“We’re a family who has elected not to participate in too many extra-curricular activities because we want our family to eat dinner together more than once a month like some families do,” Hayduk said. “We are moving because we believe in public schools, but not Wake County public schools. Not anymore.” Read the rest of this entry »

Published February 14, 2007, on CarolinaJournal.com

RALEIGH — With the N.C. lottery marking its one-year anniversary in March, the lottery’s executive director is already predicting that revenue devoted to education will be significantly less than state lawmakers appropriated in fiscal 2006-2007 budget.

Lottery proceeds are expected to fall short of General Assembly estimates by $75 million, according to Tom Shaheen, executive director for the N.C. Education Lottery. In the budget approved last session, lawmakers appropriated $425 million in lottery revenue to school funding, but Shaheen predicts that the lottery will garner $1 billion in total revenue by the close of fiscal 2007, providing $350 million for education beneficiary programs. Read the rest of this entry »