Raises, aid for schools, colleges

Budget includes More at Four, dropout grants, zoo; no tax increases

The $21.3 billion state budget proposal that legislative leaders agreed upon had not been released late Thursday. Here are some details provided by Senate leader Marc Basnight and House Speaker Joe Hackney:

* Teachers, UNC professors and community college instructors would receive 3 percent raises, with beginning teachers faring better.

State employees would receive the greater of a 2.75 percent or $1,100 increase. Retirees would receive a 2.2- percent cost-of-living increase. The proposal to authorize Gov. Mike Easley to increase teachers' pay in the fall if state revenues exceed projections was dropped.

* The 16-campus UNC system would receive the $34.6 million it says it needs to cover enrollment growth, but it would have to cut its budget by $16 million.

* Public schools would receive an additional $35 million to cover rising fuel costs, and $90 million would go for teachers' bonuses. Dropout-prevention grants would grow from $7 million last year to $15 million. The More at Four pre-kindergarten program would be increased by $30 million.

* $25 million would not be taken from the Highway Fund, which pays for roads.

* $50 million for green-space projects.

* $50 million for water and sewer projects.

* Two tax breaks would be postponed for a year -- the repeal of the state gift tax, which saves $16 million, and the expansion of the earned income tax credit, which saves $14 million.

Several lesser tax breaks that total $20 million would be part of the proposal. They include a property tax homestead exemption for disabled veterans, an extension of a tax credit to small businesses that provide health insurance for employees, and a sales-tax holiday on purchases of energy-efficient appliances.

* $2.7 million for a polar bear exhibit and $600,000 toward replacing the Africa Pavilion exhibit at the N.C. Zoo in Asheboro.

* No tax increases.