Budgets, tax burdens, teacher tenure attract JLF researchers’ attention

Both the N.C. House and Senate are moving forward with plans that would change the teacher tenure system in North Carolina’s public schools. John Locke Foundation Director of Research and Education Studies Terry Stoops wrote a column in the News & Observer this week explaining how tenure reform could lead to educational benefits for students. The column prompted at least one letter writer to respond.

The Winston-Salem Journal published a McClatchy news story quoting Stoops on state-mandated class-size limits. A WCCB Television report quoted Stoops’ research on the growing number of home-schooled students in North Carolina. (A recent John Locke Foundation report says home schooling could soon rival private schools.) Speaking of television, Stoops records this morning a segment for an upcoming edition of Bill LuMaye’s new WRDC public affairs program, “Community Matters on MyRDC.”

One of the likely topics for that discussion is the controversial Common Core State Standards. A Heartland Institute Budget & Tax News article on Common Core quotes Stoops. His report on Common Core attracted attention in the past week from the Heritage Foundation’s “Insider Online.” The Heritage Foundation also promoted Director of Fiscal Policy Studies Sarah Curry‘s alternative state budget and her report on state government’s nonvoter-approved debt.

WPTF Radio, the N.C. News Network, and NCPoliticalNews.com all promoted Economics and Regulatory Policy Analyst Michael Lowrey‘s latest By The Numbers report, which ranks North Carolina cities and counties by their tax-and-fee burdens.

Bloomberg.com noted this week the John Locke Foundation’s efforts to try to roll back North Carolina’s renewable energy mandate. Director of Regulatory Studies Jon Sanders has been leading that effort. Sanders signed an Americans for Prosperity letter as part of a campaign to cap and end that mandate.

Sanders’ column this week questioning targeted tax incentives attracted attention from the Beaufort Observer, N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law, NCPoliticalNews.com, and N.C. Senate Republicans’ daily press email. The Senate GOP also highlighted Stoops’ column on school vouchers, along with press releases linked to Curry’s alternative budget and debt reports.