We’ll keep paying: One-cent tax should be extended and dedicated to schools

Students probably haven’t even noticed it, but for the past two years we’ve been paying an extra penny on state sales tax.

The one-cent sales tax was implemented in 2009 to help make up for the budget gap that year.

We think the one-cent tax should be extended another two years with one change — all proceeds should go directly to N.C. colleges, universities and K-12 districts state-wide.

The recently passed House budget would include a 15.5 percent cut to colleges and universities, and an 8.8 percent cut to K-12 school districts state-wide.

This amounts to cutting about $1.2 billion from the education budget.

The N.C. House Republicans’ refusal to extend the extra penny on the sales tax will cut an estimated $1.1 billion in revenue — money that K-12 and university systems desperately need.

The temporary one-cent tax, if extended and dedicated to education, could make up for a large portion of the cuts.

Students would probably much rather pay an extra cent on their daily purchases than pay significantly more in tuition costs.

A poll commissioned by the Citizens for Higher Education shows that N.C. residents support the extension of the one-cent tax across party lines if it helps prevent cuts in education — including 73 percent of registered Republicans.

Even with a margin of error of about four points, the poll still demonstrates widespread support for extending the temporary tax another two years to help save the state’s schools and universities.

The one-cent tax costs the average citizen less than $0.25 a day, and the median household has paid an average of $90 per year since the tax was introduced in 2009.

This is a relatively small burden that does not seem to have hurt any particular demographic too heavily over the past few years.

Although many Republicans feel they were elected to office to cut taxes, certainly the widespread support for education funding indicated by the Citizens for Higher Education’s poll should be a wake up call to legislators feeling pressure from their constituents to cut taxes and spending.

Especially compared to the consequences of cutting $1.2 billion from the state’s education allotments, an extension of a one-cent sales tax for two more years seems like the lesser of two evils.

The renewal of the tax and its dedication to university and K-12 budgets would require state legislators to place ideology on hold in order to save the state’s educational system from severe and long-term damages.

The sentiment is fairly simple: we’re already paying the tax. Let’s just make sure the money is going to keep the state educated and competitive.