Carolina Journal Radio No. 804: Lawmakers approve first round of hurricane relief

From Cherokee to current and the largest city to the smallest and from the statehouse into the schoolhouse Carolina Journal radio your weekly news magazine discussing North Carolina's most public policy events and issues welcome to Carolina Journal radio why Michiko got during the next hour, Donna Martinez and I will explore some major issues affecting our state.

This week's edition of Carolina Journal radio was brought to you by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina working every day to transform the health system for North Carolinians. More information available at today. We.com. The US Justice Department recently hosted a full day forum targeting free speech on college campuses among the participants North Carolina man who leaves the foundation for individual rights in education will hear what he had to say a retiring state lawmaker wants to attract attention to the topic of Lyme disease you learn why he recently led a legislative discussion of the tick related illness. Plus we delve into issues related to North Carolina's recovery from hurricane Florence you hear one lawmaker's take on the storm will also highlight educational challenges for the students and teachers who missed weeks of classes.

Speaking of that major hurricane. It's also the topic at hand. As Donna Martinez joins us with the Carolina Journal headline the impact of hurricane Florence on eastern and southeastern North Carolina is likely to be felt for many years. In addition to more than three dozen deaths. Countless homes and businesses have been destroyed or damaged crops have been flooded. Schools of enclosed lives have been upended now with all of this is the backdrop state lawmakers met earlier this month to review and pass hurricane Florence relief package Carolina Journal was there and editor-in-chief Rick Henderson joins me now Rick, welcome back. Thank you. Some of the stories that were related by members of the legislature on both sides of the aisle were just so heartbreaking and compelling. One of them really stood out to me in the Carolina Journal story that came from state representative Brandon Jones of Columbus County.

Part of this what he said was this the town of fair Bluff is off the map that was one of the towns was it really hard by Matthew and our time with Marcello first. Associate editors went to fair Bluff on one of the disaster relief tours if you will of the Matthew damage assessment when Matthew really starting to come in and people there were just starting to get some of the Asian just rebuild and within a few weeks underwater. Again the city was basically wiped out. Just incredible and give us a sense of other stories are just the mood of that whole session as that Carolina Journal reporters were there. It was very somber. There was a fair amount of of basic personal anecdotes being related by the various members.

There were people there. Of course, from the area were just wanted to see what the generals and we would do to help, and there was with. I think only maybe one minor exception only one instance of partisan disagreement on anything you had to do with the with the with the relocation of early voting site that was really about it.

Other than that everything was was extremely harmonious and there was a lot of empathy was going on in chambers. Ultimately, what did lawmakers decide to do, but took several steps of the main thing that they were attempting to do was to make sure that money that needed to be appropriate for the Gen. assembly was available and that was the biggest issue because otherwise they could've waited until they came back at the end of November there scheduled to return after the election. One of the problems is her number of areas that's that part of the state that need immediate assistance and that assistance was not appropriated earlier by the Gen. assembly. So what they did was they created something that's called disaster recovery fund for Florence and it's going to be the conduit through which money directly coming from the general assembly or coming from federal grants or other source of government sources will go that will give the governor some discretion as agencies with legislative oversight that had some lease payments.

The most immediate thing that I felt compelling about it was the fact that many of the school districts were closed for weeks and in fact if I'm not mistaken we swelled and wasn't open as of early October still and with the school district is closed, the personnel get paid so that one of the things the Gen. assembly want to do. That's why they won't even come back before October 1 before the end of the patent relevant pay period was to release money so the teachers and other school staff could get paid.

Throughout this period because through no fault of their own. I can go to work and so that was that was the big thing I think. In fact, trickle that later in the program were to be talking with Dr. Terry stoops.

Some of the John Locke foundation a little bit more in depth about the impact on schools and kids and parents and teachers. That was a really immediate was school funding and also waving this school year. For some of these school districts but also what was involved to was always changing some of the voter deadlines with the election forthcoming.

Now, in early November. At the time of recording this about four weeks when recording this effect early voting is going to start in mid-October. First thing they did was in that regard was move the voter registration deadline from 12 October the 15th giving people a few more days to register and of course people can do lots of things to to register to vote.

There many ways to do it again. The State Board of elections website they can find out about the next thing was a early voting sites that may have been damaged by storm or whose access points may have been damaged by the storm. This was yet another thing that they talked about at that session was that may have early voting locations were people are our not able to get to a building is in perfectly good shape. So what's the what basically happened. This will Gen. assembly changed the ruling and said that the sites which have already been established can be moved to other acceptable locations by a unanimous vote of the local Board of Education and all elections excused and that's where the partisan dispute came up because there was a proposal to make that only majority voted not a unanimous vote, and that was actually said that actually did not go south past to the general civil did not amend the bill because the David Lewis who is head of elections committee for the house said, look, this is the procedure for every other situation involving early voting and if you can't get a unanimous vote that he knew the state board of elections and trivial expediting a little bit more about the money. First of all, how much have they set aside to go into this special Florence recovery final time at state money here I were succumbing to 56.5 million in total 6 1/2 million of that for education and 50 for other purposes.

Much of it coming from state rainy day fund and there will be more. There's a question about that because the lawmakers are coming back in mid-October to do have yet another special session.

Once I got past the emergency provisions and there will probably be hundreds of millions of dollars more.

Going through this fund. Over the course of the next months or years, but this was the initial visit, I caught a down payment is exactly what was this was the initial payment there would be federal funds coming in this special bucket of money so I speak and more state funds in this and really put an interesting focus on the state rainy day fund and that is not been something that some people had warmly embraced over the past few years and their have been some said that that state lawmakers are putting too much money right into the rainy day fund. It's now sitting at about $2 billion or so, but this is exactly the type of situation it's meant for. That's right you so governor Roy Cooper when he was running for election in 2012, said the 60s 216 said that say putting way too much money for right shoe spent that money on immediate needs. Now that may be coming back to haunt him a little bit because war finding out is is that with the two disasters coming back to back is, as the governor described two 500 year storms coming within two years of one another.

The need for that money is very extensive and as we found from earlier situations, we had disaster for the state legislature had come back the generals and we had to pass a tax increase cover funds because there was no reserve money available now with that to millionaire that makes a huge difference and it allows state to continue operating without having to go in and look at cutting other programs or raising taxes. You mentioned that they said this is just a down payment so people should expect that more money would be moved from the rainy day fund into this set Florence account, probably so. Once they assess the actual need for money will be a lot of federal money coming Rick Henderson is editor-in-chief of Carolina Journal read all of the reporting@carolinajournal.com very much like you say with this much more Carolina journal radium to come in just a moment. This week's edition of Carolina journal radio is brought to you by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina working every day to transform the health system from North Carolinians.

More information available at today. We.com Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, friends, rivals, great American presidents. Their ideas still have great value today. You can hear those ideas.

Monday, November 5.

It's a special living history event in Raleigh. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams come to life in a debate on the future of the United States of America. Taxes, trade, foreign threats, Jefferson and Adams dealt with them all though how shelter differences before a live audience.

You could join them. It's living history. Monday, November 5, 7 PM at the North Carolina Museum of natural sciences in Raleigh. Tickets are $10, five dollars for students like tickets online@johnlock.org that's John Locke with any.org or call 1866 jail left info will Québec Carolina journal radio I Michiko guy, the US Justice Department recently tackled the issue of free speech on college campuses among the participants of justices day longform on the topic, Robert Shipley of North Carolina is Executive Director of the foundation for individual rights in education or fire fire reviews written policies that more than 450 universities across the country for your most recent report 90.9% of them have at least one written policy that either directly infringes on the free speech rights of students were certain broadly enough to allow campus ministers to do so.

33% to 40% depending on how you look at it have policies that prevent speech in such a way that it's what we consider to be very obviously and tragically unconstitutional. And so we've over the years documented hundreds of examples of censorship of students on campus. Shipley points to a disturbing trend been seeing lately optically in the academic quarter this criticism that these actually aren't that big a deal that you know while there are many instances of censorship on campus. Can you compare it to the number of students on campus to the number of campus is actually not that severe fire wanted to get hard data on whether or not this is happening so long will you go. We took a survey of 1250 undergraduates that was administered a Bayou gob and funded by the John Templeton foundation, and here's what we found. On a positive note, 87% of students.

They answered yes to the quite the statement are they said they agreed with the statement in my college classes. I feel comfortable sharing my ideas and opinions and they did very much among across lines of race or gender, motorcade ideology, we started to see a difference. The very liberal students are 14% 14 points more likely to feel comfortable sharing those opinions in their very conservative peers and unfortunately that high number. The general high number, though there is even less of a reason to rejoice when you consider the more than half of the students surveyed, 54% said they'd stop themselves from sharing an idea or opinion in a class at some point during college survey didn't end there. Why do students hold back 53% of them who did indicated they were worried about being incorrect or mistaken. Another 20% share concerned that they would be given lower grades by their professors.

Disturbingly, for in considering culture 48% said they were afraid they would be judged by their peers that starts look like an awful lot of incidents in which students think they have a good point to make, but don't make it for fear of peer pressure probably most alarming because of its sheer voidability, though, is the 16% of students there who have self-centered inside the classroom, at least in part because they fear professors or fellow students would report them to campus employees combined with self-censorship due to peer pressure turns on the substantial number of students have been holding back their views. Evening class for fear of facing some sort of retribution. That's Robert Shipley of the foundation for individual rights in education. He speaking at a recent US Justice Department forum on free speech on college campuses.*We talked about student attitudes regarding their own speech with the picture actually looks different, and unfortunately worse when we look at student attitudes towards other speech more than half of students, 58% agreed with the statement that quote.

It is important to be part of the campus community were not exposed, intolerant and offensive idea. There is an ideological difference here with 63% of very liberal students and 45% of very conservative students feeling this way. But in terms of percentages is not as wide a A gap as today's culture warriors might've guessed again, though, that top line number conceal some very real differences in what sort of speech counts as comfortable princes. While there is no legal definition of hate speech in our nation and most what people call hate speech is protected by the First Amendment. Only 24% of liberal students leave that so-called hate speech should be protected compared to compared to very conservative students. Yet when it comes to another constitutionally protected form of speech campus protest 64% of very conservative students agree that they should not have to walk past student protests on campus while only 17% of liberal students agree this pose a severe problem for those who believe that if campuses can just get speech regulation just right. They get rid of the bad speech, while still allowing the good effect as well.

Students often agree that there is good and bad speech.

Their definitions of good and bad. Often conflict.

Shipley also discussed outside speakers. Given how much controversy we've seen in recent years around.

I guess speaker is visiting campuses from conservative Proctor provocateurs to the first female head of the IMF. Some colleges have suggested that bringing outside speakers is simply no longer worth the trouble. For example, the University of South Carolina decreed that henceforth the University president would be the commencement speaker every year, thereby dodging the political bullet entirely and after the ride at Berkeley last year during Miley Anapolis's abortive attempt to speak on that campus of the college been a shocking $600,000 to secure the campus for a visit from conservative speaker Ben Shapiro given the University should be a place where students access to all sorts of different perspectives are controversial speakers, a luxury the campus afford can afford to lose our survey indicated that the answer this question is a resounding no. First of all, be enormously unpopular 92% of students felt that having the opportunity to hear diverse guest speakers is important and I think the survey made the reason for that clear guest speakers often serve and challenge students. We held beliefs or introduce students to new ways of thinking about the world and they are amazingly successful in doing so, 64% of students admitted they changed the quote changed at least one of my attitudes, perspectives or opinions after a guest speaker. This high number suggests not only a guest speakers bring valuable perspectives that students probably have not been sufficiently exposed to these perspectives to the campus culture alone.

If so many of change their minds on that issue. After a single speech.

It's also reason to be deeply concerned that despite their value more than half the students, 56% agree that there are instances where an ecologist disinvited speaker though. Again, there is widespread disagreement among who just just to should be disinvited in this shortsighted mode of thinking among students is contrary to the principles of liberal education deprive students of opportunity, not just have their minds changed, but also the chance to have their argument strengthened by exposure to new ideas. Shipley used an example to highlight the power and importance of persuasion.

There's a man we had speak at a conference for fire last last year's name is Daryl Davis and he is a African-American musician and his I guess you call it a hobby is befriending members of the Ku Klux Klan. He goes the clan rallies. He befriends members and he tries to relate with them as a person and so far he has convinced dozens of them to leave the clan. They give. In fact they give them his road as a whole collection of KKK rose from people who are quitting. The reason I bring this person of the reason we brought in the fire is because the key to trying to deal with this bad speech and I think there's a lot of you know because campuses are more diverse place and they are a place that is that there's much more ferments right now that maybe there was in past years, almost certainly not from the 1960s is because we've given up its it seems late. It seems on persuading instead of coercing there. There seems to be this this sort of intellectual virus that's gotten in this idea that if nobody ever hears something bad they don't hear that somebody doesn't like black here anti-Semitism that they're not. You wouldn't occur to them. Normally what I would suggest is that you know I don't know whether or not that's true or not but I do know that persuading somebody to change their mind is going to be a lot more effective than trying to make sure they're never exposed to that topic.

And so I think to the extent that universities and other cultural institutions are currently making this effort to make it so that were not persuading you are not letting other people persuade, but we're going to actually and your speech if you step over the line. That's been a huge mistake.

That's North Carolina's Robert Shipley, Executive Director of the foundation for individual rights in education. He spoke in a recent US Justice Department form highlighting free speech issues on college campuses will return with North Carolina journal radio in a moment. Did you know you can now advance freedom and free markets just by shopping with Amazon it's true online shopping is now a great way to support the John Locke foundation just shot using the Amazon smile program and designate the work foundation to receive a portion of your purchase amount that's right you shop and Amazon donates money to ask the John Locke foundation is how it works. Why not to smile.amazon.com Amazon smile.

It's the same Amazon you know same products same prices is much better. Amazon donates .5% of the price of your eligible purchases to pass the John Locke foundation. Be sure to designate the Locke foundation is a nonprofit, you want to support. It's that easy. So now not only will you enjoy what you buy will also support freedom. Don't forget log on to smile.amazon.com today by something nice and help defend freedom, help support the John Locke foundation, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, friends, rivals, great American presidents. Their ideas still have great value today. You could hear those ideas. Monday, November 5. It's a special living history event in Raleigh. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams come to life in a debate on the future of the United States of America. Taxes, trade, foreign threats, Jefferson and Adams dealt with them all will hash out their differences before a live audience.

You could join them. It's living history. Monday, November 5 at 7 PM at the North Carolina Museum of natural sciences in Raleigh. Tickets are $10, five dollars for students like tickets online@johnlock.org that's John Locke with any.org or call 1866 jail left info if you have freedom we got great news to share with you now. You can find the latest news, views, and research from conservative groups across North Carolina all in one place North Carolina conservative.com it's one stop shopping.

North Carolina's freedom movement and North Carolina conservative.com. You'll find links to John Locke foundation blogs on the days news Carolina journal.com reporting and quick takes Carolina journal radio interviews TV interviews featuring CJ reporters and let foundation analysts, opinion pieces and reports on higher education James G.

Martin Center for academic renewal, commentary and polling data from the scimitar's Institute and news and views from the North Carolina family policy Council. That's right, all in one place North Carolina conservative.com that's North Carolina spelled out conservative.com North Carolina conservative.com. Try it today. This week's edition of Carolina journal radio was brought to you by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina working every day to transform the health system from North Carolinians. More information available at today. We.com welcome back Carolina journal radio I Michiko got state lawmakers are already taking steps to address hurricane Florence's impact on North Carolina during a special session just weeks after the storm, the Gen. assembly tackled new legislation. It dealt with the hurricane's impact on schools elections even mosquitoes. Republican Sen. Michael Lee of coastal New Hanover County trying to place the special session in perspective for his inland colleagues. Those of us in my district abolished districts in Arabian others. We see this for my counsel storm we had no idea what was going on as we did have access to power.

We did have access to television, the Internet really wasn't working at all on our phones because that was the only conduit to the outside world. It was, it was odd in that you feel very kind of disconnected from the rest of the world you have, to the extent there is a gas station has gas or police officers there.

There's a line that takes two hours to get through the new may be the person next to the last person I got gas, which is why the police officers were there, you may have tried to go to grocery store.

After a few days of the storm, only to find out that there was a line that wrapped around the building.

There are very few groceries there so I think that some of us in this room and into hurricanes.

This was not a normal hurricane. You know I've had some bills.

I wow you're lucky was only category one, you know, hurricanes usually last a day.

They don't go 2 miles an hour. They don't last for three straight days.

It's like we had three hurricanes every day for three days so I know that there are to be a lot of questions about why are we doing this. Why are we doing that, but there is an incredible amount of uncertainty in a lot of our lives on those of us who are lucky like me who I will never complain about the damage I've had, and the disruption to my life because there are so many others and had so much more. There is so much uncertainty for everyone that the reason for coming before you today with a scaled-down bill is to provide some semblance of certainty for families, children, teachers, those who are working in the school system.

Just one small piece of it because there's so much out there that is not certain.

And I know were to be working on hurricane relief from months not weeks, probably long into the long session with some things that were going to have to accomplish. That's State Sen. Michael Lee Republican from coastal New Hanover County discussing the Gen. assembly's initial efforts to address hurricane relief.

Lee and his colleagues expect much more work will be addressing a hurricane. Florence's impact on the state for weeks and months to come will return with more Carolina journal radio with a moment commitment to truth and transparency in government. That is the mission of Carolina journal and we are proud to deliver and now proud to tell you the North Carolina press Association has honored to members of our team with awards reporting and writing, that's right, we really do deliver award-winning journalism we shine the light on government spending, reveal the truth about boondoggles and dig deep into programs paid for with your tax money. We keep you in the know in a way other media outlets don't in our reach and influence are growing all of our outlets. We reach more than 1 million N. Carolinians each month so make sure you're one of them. Our monthly print edition arrives in your mailbox every month. Online daily news site Carolina journal.com has fresh stories, opinion pieces, and more. The award-winning Carolina journal team I reporters make government accountable to you. Call 1866 jail FINF0 for your free subscription, welcome back.

Carolina journal radio I Michiko okay North Carolina state lawmakers are taking a closer look at Lyme disease state houses health committee heard recently from Triad resident Nyhan Davenport two years ago, this would not of been possible because of Lyme disease for me to get here to get out of the bed. The amount of pain and energy that it would've required was something I didn't have the amount of focus. The ability to find the building. The ability to speak in a complete sentence without stuttering the ability to stand the light or even the sound of my own voice to stand upright, to be able to turn my head. Those were all things that were out of my reach for a long period of time.

Davenport explained how her Lyme disease story started 15 years ago playing out in nature didn't think anything was wrong sometime within a couple of weeks. I started developing some strange symptoms, fevers, achiness, and at one point was not able to move the joints in my hands being kind of a hardcharging driven type A personality. Also, at the time had three young children at home.

I wasn't allowed sick days, so I tried to muscle through it until my husband dragged me kicking and screaming to the emergency room. They figured out there was nothing wrong. It must've been a virus go home and sleep it off so that's what I tried to do in over the course of about two weeks. The symptoms did subside, but what I've discovered in the last decade is that is not a good thing. What happened was that I had been bitten by a tick and was not aware of it and Lyme disease along with some other co-infections. I got into my body and had gone dormant in 2012, a series of life stressors brought the Lyme disease back into Davenport's life but no one knew what was causing a range of debilitating health problems. I had very caring doctors and so they wanted to figure out what was going on in each of them looked within what their area of expertise was in at some point decided that the medicines weren't working and we need to figure out what was going on. By the time they all came to that conclusion. I had already started dying.

I couldn't remember my name. I couldn't find my way out of my driveway. I had aches I had pains. They were bearable that they were disruptive to daily life. There were times when my children walk in the room and there was a blank in my mind because I didn't know who this person was nor did I realize why I was in this room, migraine headaches. I couldn't stand lights traveling with almost impossible. So finally I went to one of my doctors and I said I just want to be me. I can deal with the physical symptoms I can't deal with the fact that I can't have a conversation with client over the child with my husband. I can't remember things so they took me out of all my medicines and when they did the symptoms hit me full force literally could not speak could not think had no emotions except one rage. Eventually Davenport learned she had Lyme disease. I knew nothing about Lyme disease. None of my local doctors were looking for Lyme disease.

I had barely heard of of Lyme disease, but I quickly became acquainted with it in a way that I never wanted to and hope hope that none of you will ever have to Republican state representative Bert Jones solicited the testimony from Diane Davenport.

Jones explained colleagues his own experience with Lyme disease have unfortunately over the past three or four years had the first-hand opportunity to learn a lot about this disease and quite frankly have met a lot of patients in the state that have Lyme's disease and to see some of the common problems that they are facing and some of the common concerns that they have frustrations that they have Jones a story hit particularly close to. How about four years ago my son who was at the time. About halfway through college, began experiencing some symptoms and like most college students first place he went was his college infirmary who thought that he had a virus in started trading him for that. They didn't get better and start having more problems with fatigue and pains and things like that. The bottom line is that over the next 12 months or so.

We visited all kinds of specialists throughout North Carolina and Virginia, particularly, and we never got a diagnosis until finally we went to a place where he was treated coming diagnosed, tested, diagnosed and then treated for Lyme's disease.

So along the way.

Once we kind of got that diagnosis continue to see some other doctors we heard some very disturbing comments if you will say to least. I've had a doctor tell me that Lyme disease doesn't exist in North Carolina.

I wasn't aware of that when I got my major in biology and went to dental school. I never learned that microbes had that kind of respect for state lines but apparently some people feel like that they do.

I've heard a doctor say that they would stay would bet there a medical license that we did have Lyme disease.

It really doesn't exist around here. I had of another family member that was being tested for Lyme disease that had Dr.-based laugh in their face because they've been bitten by taking more start to have some symptoms wanted to see if I could get some Nina medications doxycycline if you will, to treat it. He laughed at them, told them that that didn't exist around here, but just make him feel good. He prescribed them one tablet said when they got to the pharmacist pharmacist is laughed and said you know that's a joke.

Jones says this story is far too common in North Carolina. There are a lot of problems out there that patients are having to deal with in and getting a proper diagnosis and getting treatment. I would just tell you that over the past three years our family has invested tens of thousands of dollars that has not been helped by insurance. For the most part, because as the doctor said chronic Lyme disease is not recognized as is an illness so there are a lot of patients I will guarantee you and every one of your districts that are dealing with this and they are very frustrated there very concerned to have a hard time just just getting a diagnosis receiving treatment since retiring from the Gen. assembly at the end of the year. He doesn't want to leave before raising awareness about Lyme disease purpose of this is that we are increasing awareness that that we are offering some hope for patients out there who are experiencing all kinds of symptoms.

My son basically had to leave college for year because of it and again by the grace of God.

He was able to return, but I have seen firsthand several several citizens of ours who are dealing with this and I hope that there something that we can do to help them that's Republican state representative Bert Jones before he retires from the Gen. assembly is trying to raise awareness about the dangers of Lyme disease in North Carolina, will return with more Carolina journal radio in a moment this week's edition of Carolina journal radio is brought to you by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina working every day to transform the health system from North Carolinians.

More information available at today. We.com Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, friends, rivals, great American presidents. Their ideas still have great value today.

You can hear those ideas. Monday, November 5. It's a special living history event in Raleigh. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams come to life in a debate on the future of the United States of America. Taxes, trade, foreign threats, Jefferson and Adams dealt with them all though how shelter differences before a live audience. You could join them. It's living history. Monday, November 5, 7 PM at the North Carolina Museum of natural sciences in Raleigh.

Tickets are $10, five dollars for students like tickets online@johnlock.org that's John Locke with any.org or call 1866 JL left info.

Welcome back to Carolina journal radio I'm Dina Martina's earlier in the program we told you about the $56.5 million relief package that was passed by the Gen. assembly to help with devastation from hurricane Florence now a portion of that money is targets specifically to the immediate needs of North Carolina schools and kids and teachers. Superintendent of Public instruction Mark Johnson has been saying that at one point more than 1.2 million kids actually missed school days because of Florence and as of early October that more than hundred thousand kids were still out of school. So what does that mean for the families these kids the teachers and the facilities themselves.

Dr. Terry stoops is the John lock foundation's vice president for research also the director of education studies Terry, welcome back. I'm always glad to talk with you but this is a topic that's really really troubling for North Carolina.

Give us a sense of what you're hearing from your contacts in the education community in the parts of the state that are so affected a lot of them are just trying to get the basic necessities to go from day to day. The food, the water that they need and just to make sure that life returns to some semblance of normalcy.

Now teachers. Some teachers are going back to their classrooms.

Their finding issues with their classrooms and of course they have to get the all clear before anyone returns back to school. That means making sure that there's no mold or issues inside the classroom. The canoe can affect the health of the students and the teachers teachers. Of course, from what I'm hearing are very concerned about the missed school days.

We have to remember that part of our evaluation of schools is based on test scores and I think teachers are worried about now compressing a lot of the content that they were able to spread out through a regular length school year into the remaining school year end and that is going to be a challenge.

So you have the facilities side and then you have the instructional side and both are going to be extreme challenges for teachers in these affected areas. Let's talk a little bit more about what lawmakers did as part of the relief package. We know that the total package was 56.5 million, and they have said this is just the first installment in. And that doesn't count account for federal funds that will be coming in as well.

A portion of that specifically to education.

They said it needed some money immediately. What was that for these were mainly for hourly employees.

These salaried employees that funding is already been set aside so teachers will more likely than not receive their salary for the days that they missed, but the hourly employees. That's a different story. And so, as a way to ensure that they receive money for days that they missed the Gen. assembly decided to set aside some money for them were thinking of cafeteria workers and course janitors and and other hourly employees. That of course were not able to work during or haven't been able to work during the cleanup here after the storm and that's just really good to be the tip of the iceberg because there is food spoilage. That's going to be an issue. So they're going to have to find money, perhaps federal money that will pay for the food that was damaged during the storm. There were cafeteria of equipment that was damaged so the midst of the equipment that used to heat up the lunches to keep them warm will need to be replaced.

And of course these kitchens incurred some damage themselves. So before you ask Eva prepare food in the kitchen. You need to make sure that it has its it's not to have mold or other mildew issues that could affect and then secondly, a school, so there's a lot of issues there that with with not only the hourly employees where they work that will need to be resolved. Facilities question I think is a huge one because we have her descriptions and some people have toured the areas that there some schools that had like 3 feet of water in them. So there are the mold issues you're talking about but just getting a building ready and at making sure that safe and healthy for people to come back into is the number one issue before you can even deal with issues of right when we do for these kids who have now been at school for a long time. That's right.

And it may require some creativity on the on the part of the school board to find facilities and spaces perhaps unconventional ones that students can have class and this might be renting spaces from churches or other areas of of the community that may not be used to hosting a public school, they may have to get creative if their buildings are not able to be cleared by the appropriate authorities in a timely manner. Let's talk more then about what happens when kids actually get back into a classroom, whether it's in the building that they are used to attending or whether it's in a church or or wherever what you do, then Terry when kids have been out for so long. Are there laws that require that they spend a certain number of days in class and what you do with that calendar. The calendar law. North Carolina says that students need to be in class hundred and 85 days or 1025 hours of instruction in the basic subjects. The calendar law stipulates when school the school year starts and ends so lawmakers had to give some exceptions to the calendar law as it stands.

This is up to 20 days there able to write off and not in not be subject to the calendar law so they can they can take 20 days off the calendar if they need to. I think a lot of schools are going to do that. I think what they're going to do is a length in the school day and perhaps even lengthen classes so that teachers are able to get the content that students need to know in in their class. Now I won't say fortunately but fortunately this was at the beginning of the school year, so teachers are able to assess what they need to do for the rest of the school year. Had this occurred in, say, March or April would been very difficult for teachers to be able to envision what they needed to have students learn before they get receive their testing say testing in June so they actually have some time to be able to map it out and that's what they will do and I think part of it will be extending the school day, perhaps excusing some days but I don't think that, given how much in content. The teachers have to teach kids that there's going to be much of an opportunity for them to just skip over topics that suck Terry your former teacher yourself at the psychological impact on kids and on teachers coming back into that situation. Does that have to be something it's factored into the curriculum or how these kids are treated. It absolutely has to.

And I was a teacher when 9/11 happened so I actually had to deal with some of the psychological issues of what happened after that. So I understand that students when they come back to be distracted. They're gonna want to talk about what happens, they're gonna want to talk to their classmates about everything that happens in and what they had have experience what they need and so you know you have to make some give them some room to be able to do that to talk about it, but you also have to get them back on task and that's the difficult part for a lot of teachers only getting them back on task, but perhaps covering some of the content that they covered before the storm. Because of course the curriculum is meant to build on each other and if students have been out for an extended period, then the content that they learned in the beginning of the school year may be something that a lot of them have forgotten or they're not able to tie it to the contents of the receive once they return so that is the challenge. I think a lot of teachers are going to faces there. After review what was covered during the beginning of the school year gives students the room to be able to talk about what happened and what happened to their families and then get them back on task to make sure that all the content that they need to cover begins to be covered upon the return it's an incredible challenge for everyone involved.

Here we been talking with Dr. Terry stoops. He is the director of education studies.

Also, the vice president for research for the John Locke foundation. Thank you Terry appreciate very much thank you that's all the time we have for the program this week.

Thank you for listening on behalf of my cohost Mitch. Okay I'm Donna Martinez hope you'll join us again next week for more Carolina journal radio this week's edition of Carolina journal writing is brought to you by Blue Cross and Blue Shield working every day to transform the health system. More information available today. We.com Carolina journal radio program of the job. To learn more about the John Locke including donations support programs like Carolina journal radio send email to development John Locke call 66 jail left info 166-553-4636 Carolina journal radio is a comfort action of the John line foundation, Carolina's free-market think tank and Carolina broadcasting system, Inc. all opinions expressed on this program are solely those do not merely reflect the organization. For more information about the show. Other programs and services of the John line foundation John Locke toll-free at 866 JM would like to thank our wonderful radio affiliates across Carolina and our sponsors. Carolina journal radio. Thank you for listening. Please join us again next week