Gov. Perdue Issues Statement on Veto Override

Statement

Gov. Perdue tonight issued the following statement in response to General Assembly's veto override.

Tonight, the Republican-controlled legislature turned its back on North Carolina's long-standing commitment to our people to provide quality schools, community colleges and universities -- all to save a penny. I vetoed the Republican General Assembly's budget because I believe it will cause generational damage to this state. We must have a highly trained workforce for our state to be globally competitive, and that education begins in preschool classrooms and continues all the way through our community colleges and universities. They are all equally important.

This budget is shortsighted and irresponsible. It cuts a full half billion dollars more out of education than I proposed in my budget. It not only damages our education system but also hurts public safety, our environment and our ability to care for those who need us most.

Tonight the General Assembly may have undermined our schools, community colleges and universities. Tonight they may have cut our pre-k programs and turned our education system backwards. But tomorrow, the citizens of North Carolina and I will resume the fight for what we believe in - that education must be the one priority we never turn our backs on.

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