THUMBS UP to the three Catawba County school systems for student performance in the state-mandated ABCs of Accountability for the previous school year. Not every school met accountability standards, but the overall achievement was good. Most schools improved their ABC performance based on uniform testing. We must wonder if the funding cuts in the state budget will affect this year's ABCs. Schools are expected to consistently do better than the year before. This year, schools must achieve more with fewer teachers and less money. We are confident in our teachers and our students, but they may have to work extra-hard for improvement. It's a difficult situation our schools face, but we are nonetheless proud of everything they have enabled our students to accomplish.
THUMBS UP to Gov. Bev Perdue for signing the state budget, even though she had grave reservations. There was no point in delaying the inevitable. The legislative majority was not going to budge, and the opposing minority did not have the votes to force reconsideration. The budget is flawed, but it was not going to be reconsidered, much less changed, in this session. Next year's short session will provide an opportunity to amend the budget if revenue allows. And, the governor can call a special session if necessary to make adjustments. We do not expect significant changes, however. Perdue promised to veto any budget that raised taxes or reduced education spending. She did use her clout to make legislators produce a better budget than the first draft. But with the fiscal year already under way and school starting in a couple of weeks, the time for butting heads is past. She did the right thing. The majority probably has the votes to override a veto. It made sense to get a budget in place and try to effect change later. We think there is a possibility that legislators will be willing to tweak the budget without pressure if some of the dire predictions come true regarding the cumulative effect of tax hikes and spending cuts.
THUMBS DOWN to an oversight system that allows jetliners to take off with defective equipment. In a story from The Associated Press, federal investigators admit that at least 12 recent flights by U.S. jetliners were made with malfunctioning airspeed indicators. A similar breakdown may be a contributing factor to the crash of an Air France aircraft that killed 228 people. Many air travelers are under the impression that jetliners have redundant systems where pilots can tell immediately if something is amiss. Apparently, it is possible to feed wrong information to the crew. That can result in dangerous, perhaps fatal, decisions. The flaw in the system cannot be tolerated. Federal authorities must provide a mandatory fix now, not later.
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