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Misplaced priorities

Posted on August 6, 2009 by Staff

Look, a lot of us love Carolina, really and truly. And we know that among those who hold it near and dear are folks in positions of power and influence.

I have witnessed ordinarily composed gentlemen in high office get choked up with eyes all teary at the thought that one child deserving of a chance to attend UNC might be deprived of that life-changing opportunity.

And though for many, success on the field of play has reinforced that love, its roots are deeper even than Roy’s bench after a couple of solid years of recruiting — you know, light on the hill, lux libertas and so on.

So with all that, I’m wondering why so many of these powerful Carolina patriots can’t see what’s wrong with wielding their clout to maintain a special provision that amounts to a $12 million per year gift to athletic booster clubs at state institutions.

Carolina, N.C. State and ECU see the biggest chunk of this money, which they mainly use to cover the costs of out-of-state tuition for scholarship athletes. Without the supplement, that tab would likely have to be picked up by various well-to-do Rams, Wolves and Pirates.

Plenty of elected officials, many of whom are equally fervent in their love of their schools, can see that this is one multimillion dollar break the state can do without. But the Carolina fans in the General Assembly, mainly in the Senate, have thwarted attempts to do away with the supplement.

Since it was written into a budget bill in 2005, several attempts to introduce legislation to repeal the provision have fallen short. This year, it looked like a huge budget shortfall would finally break the impasse, as tax increases and major program cuts in critical areas hit the table. But again, despite major cuts elsewhere, the idea never made it to the budget negotiators’ table.

It doesn’t take long to glance through the final state budget to get an idea of what $12 million gets you. The elimination of all 200 of the state-funded literacy coaches came in right around that mark. The “savings” from cutting 350 positions at the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services came in slightly higher at $12.8 million annually.

I’m not sure what the rest of you learned up at the university; but to me, making either of those cuts while maintaining a break for booster clubs doesn’t seem very Carolina.

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