I sent this letter to Governor Easley yesterday afternoon. If you live in North Carolina (or if you don’t but you care to show some solidarity with those of us struggling in the Red States), please write a letter asap and send it to the Governor and to your state reps. The NC state legislature is considering a bill that would bring the school/childcare voucher rates for Buncombe County (currently the lowest in the state) up to the State Market Rate. These aren’t vouchers as in “let’s cut all the money for public education and give it to private schools”, but as in vouchers to children who otherwise will not be able to attend school. The preschool i work at is a public school and the majority of children are there only because they have vouchers that pay for all or part of the costs. Its a sad day when we have to have vouchers to attend public school.

If you would like to just copy the text from this letter and just make a few persynal changes, be my guest. But if you do send a letter, please let me know. Our school is trying to generate 2000 letters and i’d like to have an accurate count. If you don’t want to spend the money on postage, you can email the governor using his contact form. Thanks!

Governor Michael F. Easley
Office of the Governor
20301 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-0301

Dear Governor Easley:

I am a teacher in Buncombe County and I was shocked to learn that the state child care subsidy for low income families in Buncombe County is substantially less than the subsidy received in surrounding counties. The reimbursement rate for 5-star centers is only $437 for two-year-olds in Buncombe County versus $568 in the surrounding counties of Haywood, Henderson, and Madison. For three- to five-year-olds, the reimbursement rate is only $413 versus $541 in the surrounding counties. How can this shortfall in funding for childcare in Buncombe County possibly be justified? The cost of living, and certainly the cost of childcare, is definitely not lower in Buncombe County than in surrounding counties or the rest of the state. In fact, the cost of living in Asheville is above the national average whereas most cities in North Carolina have a cost of living significantly below the national average.

There is an urgent need for quality, reliable childcare in Buncombe County for low-income working families, and centers that are trying to meet that need are struggling to remain in business because the current reimbursement rate does not begin to cover the cost of providing the services. At least one child care center that I know of had to close because it couldn’t afford to continue operations, and others are in danger of having to close if this inequality is not addressed.

Please take whatever measures are needed to at least bring the reimbursement rate for Buncombe County up to the State Market Rate.

Thank you for your efforts in rectifying this unfair situation which is detrimental to the efforts of low income families with children attempting to find work or continue their education because they are unable to find or afford adequate childcare.