A fall 2006 North Carolina Education Update report has been prepared by the North Carolina Progress Board that presents a current view of the state of education in NC. This report was in a draft state when it was made available and is subject to change.The update provides a snapshot of key educational trends and indicators. This data, found on the North Carolina Progress Portal, will interest everyone who is committed to North Carolina’s competitive capacity. The future will have winners and losers, but the winners of global competition will be those who chart a clear strategic course and make smart long-term investments, during good times and bad.
North Carolina will witness dramatic change and mounting competition in the years to come. In a volatile, ruthless global economy, the state will be challenged to anticipate change and exploit its competitive assets.
In 1995, the NC General Assembly created the North Carolina Progress Board as a quasi-state agency to help answer this challenge. Its members are appointed by the governor, General Assembly leadership and board itself. The Progress Board’s mission is to be an independent proponent for strategic accountability and help focus citizens on the big picture. This means serving as a strategic compass — setting milestones, scanning trends, reporting progress and envisioning opportunities for change.
A dramatic change has recently come about that could end the research and reporting activities of this group. Governor Easley and a member of his staff (Mac McCorkle - recently appointed by the governor as the NCPB chairman) have decided to eliminate funding provided by the state legislature and in effect shut down the Progress Board and it's activities. The new chairman has refused to meet with other board members and has directed the state finance organization to suspend funding and work done by the board staff to prevent additional reports from being produced.
While the stated reason for cutting off funding of the Progress Board is said to be because of a study being conducted by UNC to create a university based policy research group it is believed that the Governor and his staff member perceive the reports published by the NCPB do not present a favorable view of many trends developing in the state during the governor's term of office.
The reports of the Progress Board are available on the NCPB website under the navigation menu link to the Scorecard section. The eight sections of the Scorecard offer factual and current summaries and data about related trends that present true and accurate views of the state of things in the state.
A recent comment floating around in the NC political world is that Governor Easley would like to be viewed as a candidate for Vice President during the 2008 presidential race. Shutting down the Progress Board and it's non-partisan reports would further this agenda by eliminating reports created by the NCPB for the public and reduce the chance that these could detract from the track record of the Governor while in office.
If you view the reports delivered by the Progress Board as being helpful in understanding how the state is doing in various areas you can help continue this valuable effort by contacting your state representatives and encouraging them to keep funding in place and continue the work of the board.
