How did the classroom fare?
Education is the largest expenditure in the state budget. Public school leaders feared enormous cuts and teacher layoffs, but in the end, the budget picture wasn't as bad as it could have been.
Lawmakers also made some changes in education policies.
Lottery money was used to spare deep cuts in teaching jobs. Budget writers said 1,600 teaching jobs were saved.
Gov. Bev Perdue wanted about $40 million for software licenses and computers for teachers to track student progress. She received $10 mil lion.
The final state budget included a $70 million spending cut for the UNC system. And that was viewed as good news, given that a previous plan had proposed far larger cuts.
Universities will be allowed to increase tuition next year by as much as $750 per student to cushion the campuses from the reductions. Students should brace for higher costs, but financially needy students will get help.
The state's community college system received its top budget priority - $81 million to pay for last year's enrollment growth.
The system's 58 colleges grew by 30,000 students, a 15 percent increase that has led some instructors to teach as many as eight courses asemester.
School boards will be allowed to convert low-performing schools to charter schools, with permission from the State Board of Education. Those charters won't count against the state's 100-charter limit.
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