President Obama will be speaking about his American Jobs Act on campus today. While the act itself is extremely comprehensive, there are sections that apply directly to NC and affect the students of our state directly. Updates for public schools, stabilization for teachers and tax relief plans are all in the program.
One of the main points of the plan focuses on teacher stabilization. Obama has proposed $35 billion to prevent the layoffs of up to 280,000 teachers in NC. His plan also supports new hires for teachers. NC will be provided with $900,300,000 to support up to 13,400 educator and first responder jobs if the plan is passed.
Improving schools is also a large part of the plan that would affect NC. A $25 billion investment in school infrastructure in order to update at least 35,000 public schools nation wide is proposed. These updates, according to the official press release, are meant to upgrade our schools and make them more technology friendly. NC would receive $675,700,000 in order to support as many as 8,800 jobs in the public school system.
In the plan, $5 billion is allotted for modernization needs at community colleges. NC would receive $163,100,000 in funding for this purpose. In the press release for this proposed plan, it stated that the money would go towards ensuring that these “local, bedrock education institutions have the facilities and equipment to address current workforce demands”.
NC could potentially receive up to about $20,000,000 to go toward refurbishing local communities. Additional funds would also be made available through a competitive application process, according to the press release. Obama wants to use this money to help put construction workers back on the job as well as to help refurbish and rehabilitate businesses and homes that have been foreclosed.
Unemployment is also addressed in the plan. Obama plans to institute a Pathways Back to Work Fund, which would help to provide low-income youth and adults with opportunities to receive needed training and work. The program could potentially assist 4,000 adults and 12,700 youth with getting work.
Obama wants to extend unemployment insurance and, if approved, could potentially prevent 90,400 people in NC looking for work from losing their benefits in the first six weeks. Ultimately, Obama wants to use this plan to help put 234,000 people who have been out of work long-term back to work.
