AFRICAN-AMERICAN LAWMAKERS PUSH MORE FUNDING FOR HBCU'S: Sen. Gladys Robinson, D-Guilford, noted that each UNC campus that has a doctoral-level research program is supposed to get an extra $10 million a year for faculty and equipment, but N.C. A&T gets only $2.5 million – and even that has been a recent improvement. Republican leadership has promised to include another $7.5 million in this year's state budget, she said, but the inequity shouldn't have existed for so long. "This is not about HBCUs versus non-HBCUs. This is about equity, and this is about parity," said Rep. Raymond Smith Jr., D-Wayne. Smith fought during the debate over the House budget to shift some of the $100 million earmarked for agricultural research and cooperative extension at North Carolina State University to N.C. A&T, which he said got nothing, even though the two land-grant universities have a similar focus.
https://www.wral.com/lawmakers-students-want-parity-funding-for-hbcus-in-nc/18388967/

PENCE TO THROW BIG-MONEY FUNDRAISER FOR TILLIS IN GREENSBORO: Vice President Mike Pence will attend a fundraising dinner with Sen. Thom Tillis in Greensboro on May 22, an important sign of support from the administration for Tillis, who faces a primary challenge in 2020. Tillis, from has faced criticism from some North Carolina Republicans for not sufficiently backing Trump on immigration issues, notably Trump’s national emergency declaration. Tillis, who wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post explaining his rationale for voting against the emergency declaration, voted with the president after the backlash. Tucker, in his first television ad, hit Tillis for his “flip flop” on the issue. Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and the party’s national deputy finance chair Louis DeJoy — the former CEO of New Breed Logistics and a Republican mega donor — will also attend the event. DeJoy hosted a fundraiser for President Donald Trump at his home in 2017. The event has giving levels from $2,800 to $35,000.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article230348719.html

NC EDUCATION "TRANSPARENCY" DASHBOARD MISLEADS, IS FATALLY FLAWED: Johnson uses statewide “average” public school teacher pay (a troublesome number to begin with and we’ll get to that) and then compares it to “median” household income and wages. The figures are then repeated in similarly misleading fashion for every county in the state. So, Johnson wants us to compare 2018-2019 “average” teacher pay of $53,975 with the “median” 2017 household income of $50,320. But, as North Carolina 6th graders are taught, that’s all wrong. The proper comparison would be either between the “average” teacher pay and “average” household income or “median” teacher pay and “median” household income. Here’s the truth. Instead of teacher pay running ahead of household income, it is REALLY running way behind. Johnson’s rosy picture of teacher pay wilts – with a $15,548 deficit (average household income is $70,523).
https://www.wral.com/editorial-n-c-education-transparency-dashboard-misleads-is-fatally-flawed/18367...

JANET COWELL HAS HER EYE ON THOM TILLIS' U.S. SENATE SEAT: Multiple sources tell WRAL News they expect former State Treasurer Janet Cowell to jump into the Democratic primary for the 2020 U.S. Senate race. Should she win, she would likely challenge Sen. Thom Tillis in the fall. Cowell won two statewide elections for treasurer, serving from 2009 until she stepped down in 2016. Before that, she served on the Raleigh City Council and in the state Senate. Cowell is expected to make a final decision in the coming days.
https://www.wral.com/cowell-considering-senate-run/18376851/

BILL WOULD GIVE CHARTERS LOCAL (TAX) MONEY TO BUY BUILDINGS: Senate Bill 522 makes a number of changes to state charter school regulations. The biggest may be that it would waive a prohibition on local tax dollars being used to buy buildings or other facilities. This has been a major priority for charter schools for years and a concern for traditional K-12 schools worried they'll lose money for their own construction needs. Sen. Jerry Tillman, R-Randolph, the bill sponsor, said it's not fair to treat charters differently than traditional schools because both are public schools, both are funded by the same taxpayers and both are open to the same children. "The kids are the kids," Tillman said. Last year, lawmakers allowed municipalities to operate their own charter schools for the first time, although no such school has opened yet.
https://www.wral.com/education-bills-moving-through-senate/18370987/