Chamber Applauds Lawmakers for Progress in Education:
Schools, Jobs Were Top Priorities in Legislative Session

The North Carolina Chamber and its members know the importance of education to our state and its business community. In order to continue to be a leader in job competitiveness, North Carolina must achieve and maintain excellence in education as well as economic development, innovation and business climate. With the exceptional growth of knowledge in so many different fields, 21st century workers face new intellectual challenges. For students to truly compete in a global economy, they need to produce, analyze and communicate knowledge, not just learn it.

As the leading voice for business, The North Carolina Chamber is committed to improving the caliber of our state's public school system and the competitiveness of its students. Perhaps just as compelling as the civic responsibility to invest in education is the tremendous impact that our public education system has on the business environment in North Carolina. The quality of an education system directly affects a state's ability to attract new businesses and employees. Employers already here as well as those looking to locate here benefit from not only the availability of a skilled workforce, but also a high-quality education system for their employees' children.

It is the mission of our state Chamber to ensure that North Carolina is the best state in America in which to do business. The North Carolina Chamber knows that no state will be the best without effective, accountable education systems that produce a world-class workforce. Therefore, these two policy areas, business climate and education, are not on the opposite sides of the spectrum; instead, they are key areas of collaboration and have been in our state for many decades. This point is illustrated by North Carolina's strong track record in both business rankings and education rankings.

Great Schools are Good Business in North Carolina

North Carolina has a history of excelling in national education studies, as recently evidenced by a state-by-state report card on educational effectiveness. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, collaborating with the American Enterprise Institute and the Center for American Progress, released a report in March gauging how state education systems compare and graded each state in areas from academic achievement and teacher quality to how effectively a state is spending its education dollar.

North Carolina received above average scores in comparison to the rest of the country and its neighboring states. The report gave North Carolina a perfect score, "A", in three out of nine categories. North Carolina also received an equivalent grade or better than its neighboring states of South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia in six of nine categories. North Carolina was one of only three states to receive an "A" in the return on investment category. The only category in which North Carolina received a low grade ("D") was "Truth in Advertising about Student Proficiency."

N.C. Leaders Bring Innovation to Education to Compete Globally

North Carolina Governor Michael F. Easley has received national attention for his commitment to investing in education and his innovative education programs. The Governor's Learn and Earn program has been praised nationwide as one of the first in which students can both graduate high school and receive a college associate's degree in five years. This legislative session, lawmakers expanded the Governor's Learn and Earn program by providing additional funding to develop additional sites (schools).

North Carolina also launched the nation's first Center for 21st Century Skills. Governor Easley established the Center in 2005 to focus on improving North Carolina's public education system to ensure that students graduate with the skills needed for success in the global economy. It is a program designed to work actively with business leaders, educators and policymakers to create new curricula, new assessments and new ways to align classroom teaching and learning outcomes with 21st century workforce readiness skills.

Budget Invests in Education, Improves Business Climate

This year's legislative session illustrates the point that states such as North Carolina can invest in business climate and education improvements at the same time. The General Assembly, with strong support from the Governor, increased educational spending approximately 9 percent by providing nearly $1 billion more in resources. Additionally, lawmakers lowered the cost of doing business in our state to spur job creation and attract new business investment. While making significant new investments in not only K-12 schools, but also our University system and community colleges, the General Assembly also decreased the "small business tax" by 0.25 percent and agreed on a four-year phase-out of sales and excise taxes on energy sold to manufacturers. This year's state budget clearly shows that improving North Carolina's business climate and educational systems and outcomes are not mutually exclusive.

Education: Everybody's Business Coalition
Unites Leaders in Business & Education

The North Carolina Chamber is a proud member of the Education: Everybody's Business Coalition (EEBC), which is a coalition aimed at facilitating collaboration between the education and business communities in our state. The Coalition began with the notion that both business and education leaders recognize that schools are not only "good business," but are also "everybody's business."

When business and education leaders work together North Carolina will achieve better schools, better educational standards, and produce the most educated, skilled workforce in the nation. Our state Chamber applauds our Coalition partners (many of them Cornerstone members in our Chamber) for their ongoing support of numerous education policy measures that passed this legislative session. The following are just a small sample of important education initiatives that passed:

• Keeping and Recruiting the Best Teachers
  As learning starts with teachers, it is critical that our state retain and grow a base of the best-qualified teachers for our classrooms. To keep us competitive with other states, North Carolina continually invests in keeping teacher salaries at or above the national average.
  
  A 5 percent salary increase for public school teachers, community college instructors and university professors was agreed to this legislative session. This increase will keep North Carolina on track to exceed the national average in teachers' salaries by 2009.
  
  
• Equipping our Students with the Best Technology
  As the business community improves technology, the EEBC stands firm that our schools should benefit from those advances. EEBC has continually advocated for adequate funding for school technology.
  
  A pilot program was funded through this year's state budget to provide every teacher and student within the program with computers. Additionally nearly $12 million was allocated for technology in the Learn and Earn program. This is projected to provide every program with internet connectivity by 2009.
  
  
• Working to Fund Low-Income & Growing Schools
  It is imperative that as we work to improve our educational system that we continue to focus on bringing low-wealth schools to the same level. Along the same line of reasoning is the need to re-examine the funding for those schools that are out-growing their revenue.
  
  This year's budget provided for an additional $20 million for low-wealth school systems. Additionally $70 million in bonuses was set aside for those schools that met or exceeded expectations in the 2006 school year.

Chamber Cornerstone Members
Pave the Way for the Education Coalition

Many of our state Chamber members have recognized that the business community has not only the opportunity and capacity to improve the state's education system, but also the obligation - in order to prepare every student to succeed in a competitive economic environment. The North Carolina Chamber recognizes Cornerstone members that have supported the EEBC since its inception:

• AT&T North Carolina
• Progress Energy
• Duke Energy
• GlaxoSmithKline
• RJ Reynolds Tobacco
• Embarq
• Wachovia Bank
• Food Lion, Inc.

Chamber will Align Advocacy with Education Priorities

The North Carolina Chamber had a very successful legislative session in delivering direct cost savings for businesses and improving our state's business climate. Additionally, the EEBC and numerous other education advocates (many also supported by Chamber members) scored significant education victories this legislative session. Today's global economy and intensely competitive environment requires continuous improvement, however.

The world is changing and our state must continue to strengthen our education systems so that our workforce is well-equipped for new economy jobs and our students are ready to seize the economic opportunities the 21st century offers. Our state Chamber recognizes that in order to realize our vision for North Carolina and fulfill our mission, the business community must continue to support meaningful educational reform and innovation, and continue to make wise investments in our schools and students. Simply put, great schools are good business.