Study Lays Out Faults In NC School Funding Formulas
The legislature's government watchdog agency is tackling the complicated and often uneven formulas for distributing billions of dollars annually to North Carolina's school districts and charter schools.
The report released Wednesday by the Program Evaluation Division to a legislative committee says the way money is allotted for paying teachers favors the wealthiest districts. The study also found spending allotments need fixing for poor districts, for children with disabilities and for those speaking English as a second language.
Durham Elections Board Open To Hear Vote Miscount Evidence
The elections board in heavily Democratic Durham County wants to see any evidence that a software problem could have resulted in miscounted votes on Election Day, while a Republican Party attorney acknowledged a recount may have little impact on the still-undecided North Carolina governor's race.
The Republican-majority county elections board split along party lines Wednesday in deciding on a more extensive hearing Friday on whether to recount 94,000 ballots cast before Election Day. State GOP attorney Tom Stark offered little evidence votes were miscounted, but elections board chairman William Brian said his protest deserved a deeper look.
Racist Graffiti Mars Black Fraternity Convention In Greensboro
Racist graffiti was found in a Greensboro hotel that was hosting a historically black fraternity convention.
Members of Alpha Phi Alpha were holding their annual conference at the Sheraton and Koury Convention Center.
Fox 8 News reports that members discovered the graffiti in a bathroom. A six-letter word had been scrawled surrounded by a swastika and the letters KKK.
Fraternity Vice President Anjan Basu says the convention center responded quickly by removing the graffiti and apologizing to the group.
Basu says he plans to file a report with the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Since the November 8th presidential election, the Center has received 435 reports of hate speech and harassment nationwide.
Lawsuit Accuses Harnett County Deputies Of Pattern Of Abuse
The family of a man who was shot and killed by a Harnett County sheriff's deputy while sitting on his porch last year has filed a federal lawsuit that accuses the department of having a history of abusing and harassing the public.
The lawsuit was filed Wednesday, one year after 33-year-old John Livingston, of Lillington, refused to allow deputy Nicholas Kehagias to search his home without a warrant. The deputy said he feared for his life after the argument turned physical. A grand jury refused to indict the officer.
Five other residents are also plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which says Kehagias and deputies Brandon Klingman and John Knight called themselves the "KKK" and trained together in a type of "fight club."
US Poet Laureate To Read From His Works At Duke University
The U.S. poet laureate who is the first Mexican-American and Latino to hold the position will read from his works at Duke University.
Juan Felipe Herrera also will meet the public during the free event that begins at 4:30 p.m. Thursday in the David M. Rubenstein Library's Gothic Reading Room.
Herrera is a poet, photographer, anthropologist, cartoonist and multimedia artist who was selected as the nation's 21st poet laureate in June 2015.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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