NC Budget Cuts Public Schools $300M, HHS by $1B

    RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - A two-year state budget presented to North Carolina legislators would cut more than $1 billion from last year’s spending levels for health and human service programs.
    Details of the $19 billion document released late Monday would cut spending for the aged and social services, force hard choices from local public school administrators, and eliminate hundreds of positions.
    The state’s public schools will have nearly $350 million less this year than they were appropriated last year. The State Board of Education is ordered to divide a $225 milliion cut this year among 115 local school districts based on student enrollment.
    The budget also would generate about $800 million this year through a 1-cent temporary sales tax increase.