McCrory reconvenes Education Cabinet to discussion collaboration

After releasing his first budget proposal last month, Gov. Pat McCrory last week reconvened the N.C. Education Cabinet for the first time in almost three years.

The cabinet, which is made up of leaders from N.C.’s three educational arenas — community college, K-12 and university systems — met Wednesday to discuss collaboration efforts.

The cabinet has long existed in statute, but last convened at the beginning of former Gov. Bev Perdue’s term.

“We are bringing everyone to the table to develop a new vision and brand for North Carolina education,” McCrory said in a statement.

The objectives of the cabinet include a shared budget between all education sectors.

The committee within the cabinet that is leading the effort is spearheaded by UNC-system President Thomas Ross and N.C. Board of Education Chairman Bill Cobey.

“Gov. McCrory is dedicated to getting the K-12 education system working together with the university system and the community colleges in a more coordinated way,” Cobey said.

“He didn’t feel right about putting together three different budgets; he would like to present one education budget.”

The shared budget would help secure deals for large purchases including security and human resources — because they are applicable to all education sectors, Cobey said.

But the plan is far from concrete, said Megen Hoenk, spokeswoman for the N.C. community college system.

“We don’t really know what changes might occur, that’s part of the cabinet’s work,” she said.

Christopher Harrison, a research associate and graduate student at the UNC-CH School of Education, said this process is not new to North Carolina, but is indicative of a broader trend.

“It strikes me as being very much in the mold of having a business orientation to the work of education,” he said.

That business mindset could be problematic, Harrison added.

“The problem with (this) is that the business of education, to abuse a term, is a lot more complex than that,” he said.

“Kids aren’t just widgets. We aren’t just turning out products. There’s a very complex process of growth and development that’s involved, and it differs widely in the different institutions we are talking about.”

But Cobey said that regardless of criticism and the ineffectiveness of previous cabinets, this one plans on making significant headway in consolidating education budgets.

He said the cabinet will meet again in the next few months.

“For the first time (the cabinet) is going to be more than a discussion group. It’s actually going to be a group that tries to come up with ideas and actions, steps that can actually result in a more efficient use of education resources,” he said.

Contact the desk editor at state@dailytarheel.com.