The push to restore driver's education funding in NC

A handful of programs are always bound to get the axe every new state budget. With this year’s budget, one casualty has school systems seeing red.

Proposed last year, Gov. McCrory’s budget eliminates the $26 million from the state’s driver’s education program. This funding helps to offset the cost to the approximately 100,000 teens who take the class every year.

Typically, a student may pay about $55 to take driver’s ed at their school or a driving school, but that cost is subsidized by the state. Without that funding, students, parents or individual schools are forced to absorb the real cost, between $200 and $400.

Though the cut has been in place since last year, this part of the budget is scheduled to kick in by July 1. This has school systems and elected officials scrambling for a solution.

“There is not an easy answer to the question,” Rep. Josh Dobson said. “As with all state spending, everything depends on the two-year state budget.”

According to Dobson, the House Education Appropriations committee is working on options to make sure funding for drivers ed will ultimately remain in the budget before it is finalized.

“I’m not sure what the final outcome will be, however, I can tell you I am in full support of fully finding our driver’s education program,” Dobson said.

One proposed solution is to dedicate funds from the $3 state license plate fee to driver’s education, which was the law in North Carolina in the 1970s.

According to the Department of Public Instruction, teen drivers were involved in 43,205 car crashes in 2013 in North Carolina, with 66 fatalities.

After that age of 18, drivers are not required to take driver’s education.

As of June 30, driver’s ed will effectively shut down in some schools if the legislature does not find a funding source before then.