North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore says borrowing money to pay for public school construction is the way to go because it offers certainty to local governments about how much money they'll have at their disposal for projects.
Moore and other House Republicans unveiled on Thursday a $1.9 billion debt proposal , authorized only if voters would approve a 2020 statewide referendum. The package would have $1.5 billion for K-12 school districts and $200 million each for the University of North Carolina and community college systems.
Senate Republicans support a pay-as-you-go construction plan that doesn't require issuing debt. They say it would generate $2 billion each for K-12, community college and UNC construction over nine years.
Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and the North Carolina School Boards Association back the bond option.