http://66.225.205.104/LM20110629.mp3
South Carolina lawmakers have been busy today overriding spending vetoes issued by Governor Nikki Haley yesterday. They're working to finalize a state budget before the start of the fiscal year on Friday. Part of the conflict is from the fact that tax revenues are actually looking better than expected. Lawmakers and the governor disagree on how that surplus should be spent. Last month South Carolina lawmakers found themselves in an unusual predicament. State economists told them they'd have an extra $210 million to work with in the coming year. "We certainly haven't had surplus money the last few years. We've had the other problem," laughs Wes Hayes, a Republican state senator. State senators approved half of the extra money as tax relief for some businesses and the other half to start making up for past cuts in k-12 education. That would bring per pupil spending to nearly $2,000. "Still substantially less than where it was a few years ago, but it would be better," says Hayes. Ultimately senators negotiated with the state house to only send $56 million of the extra money to public schools. All the while Republican Governor Nikki Haley said that wasn't going to fly with her. Here she is at a press conference two weeks ago: "The fact that we had additional money going to the Senate doesn't mean you go and say 'Oh, where can we spend it and how fast can we spend it?' It means that you say if you're not giving it in tax relief, if you're not giving it to pay down debt, you send it back to the tax payer." Yesterday, Haley vetoed the extra funding for schools and today the House voted 97-8 to override it. The Senate will take it up next. One of those watching the debate closely is Linda Blackwell (pictured), an elementary school principal in Lancaster County. Over the past few years, she's had to cut summer school, lay off five teachers, and trim work days for remaining teachers. She says lately teaching has become much more challenging. She surveys a classroom filled with 30 desks. Some classes have swelled by almost a third. "You've got to be everywhere and you've got to have eyes on everyone and it's hard to do that if you're on one side of the room and somebody thinks, 'I'm not going to get called on and it's going to be a little while before she gets over here,'" says Blackwell. Whether the extra education money comes through or not, Blackwell is getting ready to prepare her teachers for more of the same next year. Other State Budgets South Carolina is one of about 13 states beginning the new fiscal year with more money than expected. Stacey Mazer with the National Association for State Budget Officers says some of those states are taking different approaches to the surplus. "In some cases what's happened is the budget shortfall was reduced. Instead of having a really, really big problem, your problem's a little bit better with the additional revenue," says Mazer. Mazer says other states have done what Governor Haley would've liked. They've used the extra money to pay off debt or fill a rainy day fund. North Carolina is expected to end the year with a $181 million surplus. That money is being rolled over into next fiscal year to help offset a budget shortfall.