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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Funds earmarked for school districts to hire teacher assistants are once again a sharp negotiation point between Senate and House leaders, who will hammer out a final North Carolina state government budget.
Senate Republicans skeptical of the value of assistants on student academic performance would in their budget cut funding for teacher assistants from $375 million to $75 million by the fall of 2016. The House budget would keep assistant funding at current levels. The Senate plan also would hire 3,200 new teachers in early grades.
It's not clear how many assistant positions would be eliminated under the Senate proposal because school districts can spend money from Raleigh largely as they see fit.
The General Assembly's nonpartisan fiscal staff calculates the Senate reduction as equivalent funding for 9,300 assistants.
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