It’s time legislators got down to business and adopted a budget. All this dragging of feet is costing money, leaving many agencies in a holding pattern and doing nothing to help the state of North Carolina. We cannot imagine a reason good enough for lawmakers to continue this unreasonable delay.
We really can’t understand all the hemming and hawing, short of political Tom-foolery, and that’s no good reason to keep dangling a fiscal plan but not approving it.
While legislators mull what to do, school systems, students and parents are left wondering what will happen to drivers’ education programs and teacher assistant funding. And that’s just the tip of this mammoth financial iceberg.
The state Senate has offered up a plan this week, but it comes with restrictions that are hard to swallow. State representatives apparently aren’t crazy about it and neither are we. But we recognize compromise has to come in order for a budget to get the green light.
We encourage lawmakers to find reasonable compromise that doesn’t take flexibility away from school systems, counties or municipalities, and find it in good time so everyone can move forward again.