• recruiting and retaining quality teachers and administrators,

• a comprehensive turnaround plan for low performing schools, and

• 21st century technology for assessing students’ needs.

“North Carolina’s children today are one step closer to being guaranteed the best public education possible – something every child deserves. This grant will give us the resources to more aggressively implement our plan to ensure that all of our children graduate ready for a career, college or technical training,” said Gov. Perdue.

“It won’t matter where they live; it won’t matter what their school looks like; it won’t matter what their parents do for a living. What will matter is that North Carolina leaders have joined together to support the best and most innovative approaches to public education this state has seen in a decade. I thank Sec. Duncan for recognizing North Carolina’s ability to lead in education reform, and I thank everyone who worked so hard to make this possible,” said Perdue.

Gov. Perdue led the application process and the team that traveled to Washington, D.C., earlier this month to interview with federal decision makers. Joining her were State Board of Education Chair Dr. Bill Harrison, State School Superintendent June Atkinson, Executive Director of the North Carolina Association of School Administrators Dr. Bill McNeal, and Executive Director of the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation Glenn Kleimann.

“This is an incredible opportunity for the boys and girls in North Carolina,” said Board Chairman Dr. Harrison. “It will allow us to accelerate implementation of the governor’s Career and College: Ready, Set, Go initiative. I appreciate the many supporters across the state who played such a vital role in crafting this winning proposal.”

“This will allow North Carolina to continue the tradition of being a leader in public education,” said Superintendent Atkinson. “Through collaboration with state and local leaders, we are committed to putting every dime of the Race to the Top money to the best use possible for students.”

Education leaders across the state stepped up with their support of the round two Race to the Top application, and the General Assembly passed legislation aimed at better arming local school districts to implement the plan. Sherri Strickland, president of the North Carolina Association of Educators, said, “I am proud of the work each NCAE local leader did with local superintendents and school boards to make North Carolina’s Race to the Top award possible. NCAE looks forward to continuing this partnership with Governor Perdue, Superintendent Atkinson and local school systems as we make this grant work for North Carolina students and educators.”

The Race to the Top award will be overseen by Dr. Harrison and the State Board, and Superintendent Atkinson will be responsible for implementing the approved program.

“In recent days North Carolina has benefitted from significant federal investments in education,” said Perdue. “Now we must put those new resources to good use – quickly, with the utmost efficiency and accountability, and with an eye toward our one common goal: preparing every child for their 21st century futures.”

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Additional quotes from state leaders:

“NCSBA is excited to learn that North Carolina has been selected to receive a Race to the Top grant. School boards, administrators, teachers, and parents all worked hard to support the development of the North Carolina plan. I am confident that our 1.4 million students will reap the benefits of our collective efforts.”

-Edwin Dunlap, Jr., Ph.D., Executive Director, North Carolina School Boards Association

“I congratulate our North Carolina leadership for bringing home Race to the Top funding. In Guilford County, we will use the dollars wisely to make the Career and College: Ready, Set, Go! promise a reality.”

-Maurice “Mo” Green, superintendent of Guilford County Schools

“North Carolina’s success in winning Race to the Top reflects the great teamwork in our state, with more than 150 people from the Governor’s Office, NCDPI, UNC, school districts, professional associations, nonprofits, and the business community involved. It’s an important outcome, but we know the hard work lies ahead — implementing the Race to the Top plan to provide a great teacher in every classroom and a great leader in every school, greatly improve our lowest performing schools, move to internationally benchmarked standards and assessments, and use technology and data to enhance teaching and learning. The continuing collaboration and deep commitment of educators across our state will enable North Carolina to succeed.”

-Glenn Kleiman, Executive Director, Friday Institute for Educational Innovation

“The Race to the Top award is validation of our career and college school improvement plan.”

-Bill McNeal, Executive Director of N.C. Association of School Administrators

“North Carolina’s business community is excited about the Race to the Top initiative and the Governor’s aggressive ‘Ready, Set, Go’ education agenda. Economic success in a digital, global economy depends on the educational achievements of today’s students who are tomorrow’s customers, employees and shareholders. Each one has the capacity to achieve something great. North Carolina has a well-earned reputation for creative, innovative educational initiatives designed to help each student reach his or her fullest potential. This award builds on that proud heritage and will open the door to accomplishment and success for thousands of students, their families and communities.”

-Cynthia Marshall, President, AT&T North Carolina and Chair, North Carolina Chamber of Commerce

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Press release reposted from: http://www.governor.state.nc.us/NewsItems/PressReleaseDetail.aspx?newsItemID=1310

“These steps hopefully will make the burden on military service members and their families easier, but this is not all we can do,” Perdue said. “We will continue to find ways to aid those sent overseas, and the families they leave behind.”

Senate Bill 1400 prevents a bank or mortgage company from foreclosing on the home of service members within nine months of active duty. Our soldiers and sailors who are facing a battlefield each day should not have to worry about fighting creditors at home.

House Bill 614 guarantees soldiers on active duty their most basic right in a democracy – to vote. The new law ensures that when active duty service members request an absentee ballot, they will get ballots for every election that year.

House Bill 76 assures that those who give their lives in military service are given the dignity of choosing how their remains will be put to rest. The same bill also adopts the Honor and Remember flag and the gold star flag into state law as a symbol to honor and recognize fallen members of the Armed Forces.

House Bill 412 makes sure that military court records are in synch with our state records.

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Press Release Reposted from: http://www.governor.state.nc.us/NewsItems/PressReleaseDetail.aspx?newsItemID=1281

“We’ll be able to catch criminals sooner rather than later thanks to this new law,” Cooper said. “More use of DNA will also help law enforcement zero in on the right suspect and clear the wrongly accused.”

House Bill 1403 earned final approval today from the General Assembly. The measure was sponsored by Representatives Wil Neumann and Rick Glazier and Senators Dan Clodfelter and Josh Stein.

Under the legislation, local law enforcement agencies will take DNA samples from certain felony arrestees. DNA samples collected by cheek swab will be analyzed by the SBI and then uploaded to the state and national DNA databases. The samples will be run against DNA taken from unsolved crimes to look for matches, and stored to compare against evidence collected from crime scenes. If an arrestee isn’t convicted or the case is dismissed, the arrestee’s sample would be removed.

North Carolina’s DNA database, which currently includes samples from all convicted felons thanks to a 2003 law pushed by Cooper, has helped solve more than 1,400 cases. The database also helps exonerate wrongly accused suspects.

State and federal laws protect the database from unauthorized access or use, and the DNA profile used does not contain medical information.

Adding DNA from arrestees to the North Carolina database is projected to crack as many as 100 unsolved murders, rapes and other violent crimes in just the first year alone. After adding DNA arrestees to its database beginning in 2003, Virginia got more than 5,000 hits, with nearly 500 of these matches linked to arrestees.

Across the country, 23 other states and the federal government have already passed laws that allow them to collect DNA samples from arrestees. Courts have upheld the practice as constitutional and have equated the collection of DNA at arrest to the taking of fingerprints at booking.

Federal funds are available to pay for a portion of the testing. Eight additional forensic criminal analysts are expected to be hired to analyze and review samples, distribute swab collection kits to law enforcement, and help with training.

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Press release reposted from: Plan-to-fight-crime-by-taking-DNA-from-arrestees

“These samples will build a database that law enforcement can use to identify suspects and solve crimes. I know firsthand how effective this technology is. A friend of mine, Kathy Taft, was murdered earlier this year, and the suspect was caught through DNA analysis,” Gov. Perdue said. “These samples are the 21st century version of fingerprints. I’m proud to sign legislation that will put this kind of crime fighting power in the hands of law enforcement officers on the street.”

Perdue pushed for the legislation in her budget and sees the new sample collection as an important tool for law enforcement officers across the state. Estimates are that as many as 100 cases could be solved with the help of the DNA samples within the first year. The DNA information will help build the safer communities that the Governor has made one of the four core priorities for her administration

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Press release reposted from: newsItemID=1210

“IBM has been a major employer in North Carolina providing thousands of skilled jobs for more than 30 years. We value this company’s ongoing commitment to North Carolina and Research Triangle Park,” said Perdue.

IBM LBPS offers a broad range of lender-based technology and business process solutions for its clients. (For more information, visit www.lbps.com) Salaries for the 600 new jobs will vary according to responsibilities and function, but the overall average pay for the new positions will be $50,000 a year not including benefits. The Durham County average is $57,772.

“The new services operation furthers our commitment to the state of North Carolina and our ongoing presence in Research Triangle Park,” said Bob Greenberg, senior state executive, IBM North Carolina. “These skilled positions, coupled with our investment earlier this year in an energy efficient cloud-computing data center, demonstrate that as the marketplace demands new skills and technology, growth opportunities in North Carolina continue to be a hub of activity.”

The Economic Investment Committee voted today to award a Job Development Investment Grant to IBM LBPS to facilitate this project. For each year in which the company meets the required performance targets, the state will provide a grant equal to 65 percent of the state personal income withholding taxes derived from the creation of new jobs. Should the company create the jobs called for under the agreement and sustain them for 10 years, the agreement could yield as much as $7.79 million in maximum benefits for IBM.

“These are exactly the sort of highly skilled jobs that North Carolina needs to be recruiting in the 21st century economy, and we’re especially pleased that IBM is expanding its presence in Research Triangle Park,” said Rep. Mickey Michaux, D-Durham.

“North Carolina has a built-in workforce for these kinds of jobs,” said Sen. Floyd McKissick, D-Durham. “We’re committed to making the right investments to create these kinds of opportunities in Durham and across North Carolina.”

Job Development Investment Grants are awarded only to new and expanding businesses and industrial projects whose benefits exceed the costs to the state and which would not be undertaken in North Carolina without the grant.

Other partners who assisted with this project include: the N.C. Department of Commerce, Research Triangle Regional Partnership and Durham County.

Through Gov. Perdue’s JobsNOW initiative, the state continues to work aggressively to create well-paying jobs, train and retrain its workforce, and lay the foundation for a strong and sustainable economic future.

For more information about IBM, including employment opportunities, visit www.ibm.com.

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Press release reposted from: http://www.governor.state.nc.us/NewsItems/PressReleaseDetail.aspx?newsItemID=1208

The licenses and ID cards will carry a black-and-white photograph taken by a camera with multiple lenses. The resulting photo will be laser engraved into the card, providing a clearly identifiable image. The cards also will be made of a more durable polycarbonate material than is currently used. Multiple layers will be fused together and cannot be removed without leaving evidence of tampering. The new cards will meet state and federal mandates, as well as national security requirements.

The N.C. Department of Transportation has awarded a $47.5 million contract to MorphoTrak-Safran Group over the next seven years. The contract may be extended for two additional one-year periods.

NCDMV will pay $2.12 per card for the new cards. During the past two years, DMV has issued approximately 2.4 million driver licenses and ID cards per year. The cost per card will increase by $0.27 and, at current volumes, will be covered by NCDMV’s existing budget.

***NCDOT***

Press release reposted from: https://apps.dot.state.nc.us/pio/releases/details.aspx?r=3801

“North Carolina has always been a leader in education reform and this is yet another example of how the leadership in this state remains committed to putting our children first,” said Gov. Bev Perdue.
 
North Carolina was one of the 48 states to participate in the state consortium led by governors and chief state school officers. Teachers, education advisors and other groups have provided valuable feedback to the groups working since fall 2009 to write the Common Core standards on behalf of the state consortium. With the release of the Common Core, it is up to each participating state to formally adopt the Core and to plan their state’s implementation.

These standards define the knowledge and skills students should have throughout their K-12 education so that they will graduate high school fully prepared for college and careers. The standards:
•         Are aligned with college and work expectations;
•         Are clear, understandable and consistent;
•         Include rigorous content and application of knowledge through high-order skills;
•         Build upon strengths and lessons of current state standards;
•         Are informed by other top performing countries, so that all students are prepared to succeed in our global economy and society; and
•         Are evidence- and research-based.

“North Carolina is pleased to be one of the first states to agree to the Common Core,” said State Board of Education Chairman Bill Harrison. “Our state has been a leader in the movement from the beginning because we believe that it makes sense to collaborate with other states that share our vision for clear and rigorous standards.”
“This is the first time that states have led an effort to create a common set of learning standards for our students,” said State Superintendent June Atkinson. “North Carolina’s own essential standards are well aligned with the math and English Common Core, and we look forward to the benefits for our students. We are excited about the opportunities the Common Core offers us to share professional development and best practices with our partner states.”

Over the next two months, North Carolina’s State Board of Education and Department of Public Instruction will receive public comment and create an operational roll-out plan for the fall of 2012. Comments are being received at commoncore@dpi.state.nc.us.

The full Common Core standards can be viewed at www.corestandards.org.

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Press release reposted from: http://www.governor.state.nc.us/NewsItems/PressReleaseDetail.aspx?newsItemID=1156

Most construction projects along interstate, N.C. and U.S. routes will be suspended beginning at 4 p.m. on Friday, May 28, until 9 a.m., Tuesday, June 1, with three exceptions:

· I-85 South in Guilford County is reduced to two lanes at Exit 113 (N.C. 62) due to construction of the I-73/U.S. 311 Bypass;

· Both directions of I-40 in Greensboro (Guilford County) are reduced to two lanes between mile marker 213 and 214 due to construction of the Bridford Parkway Bridge; and

· U.S. 17 in Windsor (Bertie County) is reduced to one lane on the Cashie River Bridge due to construction. Traffic is controlled by signals; however, trucks are restricted on this route and detour signs are in place. All motorists are encouraged to use the U.S. 17 Bypass around Windsor to avoid possible delays.

Here are some additional tips for navigating the highways during busy holiday travel seasons:

· Leave early to get a head start on your drive. Travel at non-peak hours when possible.

· Stay alert. Even if work is suspended, you may encounter narrowed lanes and traffic shifts in work zone areas.

· Be patient and obey the posted speed limit. The penalty for speeding through a marked work zone is $250.

· Use alternate routes, when possible, to avoid traffic congestion.

· Stay informed. Real-time travel information is available over the phone by dialing 511, or online at www.ncdot.gov/travel. NCDOT also now offers Twitter updates for motorists and ferry passengers (visit www.ncdot.gov/travel for more information).

To help reduce fuel consumption and save money:

· Don’t rush. “Jack-rabbit” starts and hard braking alone can increase fuel consumption by 40 percent, but reduce travel time by only 4 percent.

· Observe the speed limit. Not exceeding 60 miles per hour (where legally allowed) can improve mileage by 7-23 percent.

· Use cruise control. Using cruise control on 10,000 miles driven in a year could save you nearly $200 and save more than 60 gallons of fuel, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.· Remove unnecessary items. An extra 100 pounds in your vehicle can reduce your miles per gallon by up to 2 percent. Wind resistance can also reduce mileage so avoid using luggage racks, rooftop carriers and ski racks when they are not needed.· Maintain your vehicle. Keeping your tires properly inflated, changing your oil and replacing air filters can all help improve fuel economy.

For more information on how to “Drive Green, Save Green,” visit http://www.ncdot.gov/programs/drivegreen/ .

***NCDOT***

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Press release reposted from: https://apps.dot.state.nc.us/pio/releases/details.aspx?r=3696

The results of the survey will be used by transportation officials to help develop long-range transportation plans and to identify transportation priorities for the region. The surveys will conclude in late May and early June.

“These roadside surveys allow citizens the opportunity to shape the transportation future of this region,” said Mike Bruff, manager of the NCDOT Transportation Planning Branch that is overseeing the project. “By taking a couple moments of their time, motorists are helping planning officials determine the type and location for transportation improvements. They are also helping officials determine the priority order for these projects.”

During the survey period, surveyors will randomly stop motorists at designated sites throughout the region and ask questions about their trip. The questions will involve the motorists’ trip origin and destination, as well as their general purpose of travel. Personal information about the motorists will not be collected. Only a small percentage of motorists will be surveyed and each survey will last only one or two minutes.

The surveys will be conducted during daylight hours from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and survey sites will vary. For the safety of motorists and the surveyors, drivers are asked to slow down as they approach the sites and to obey traffic control signs and personnel.

The survey is being administered by the Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation (PART) in partnership with NCDOT, along with the Burlington-Graham Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Greensboro Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, the High Point Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, and the Winston-Salem Forsyth Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization. PART has contracted with the land planning firm Kimley-Horn and the ETC Institute to conduct the surveys.

For more information on the roadside survey or the regional travel model, contact Scott Rhine with PART at (336) 662-0002.

***NCDOT***