GASTON – State Senator Erica Smith-Ingram met with Northampton County Public Schools officials, Halifax Community College (HCC) leaders, and parents on Thursday to discuss funding for the Northampton County New Tech Early College.

When the NC House of Representatives approved its budget last month, five rural new early colleges (including Northampton) were each appropriated $300,000 from the state’s coffers, but the NC Senate cut that funding when it passed a budget last week.

In addition to Northampton, Camden, Person, Wayne and Chatham counties also lost funding for new early colleges.

Smith-Ingram, a Northampton native and former county board of education member now representing Senate District 3, indicated to the assemblage that many in the Senate simply missed the line items in the budget.

She encouraged Northampton Superintendent Monica Smith-Woofter and HCC President Ervin Griffin to prepare a packet of information for House and Senate conferees by Monday.

The conferees will start work next week to reach a budget deal by the end of June.

The Northampton County New Tech Early College will be housed in the main hallway of the Squire Elementary School, with students taking the same courses from HCC that students in the Roanoke Valley Early College (RVEC), which is housed on the HCC campus, do now.

Griffin already has a “book” of data showing that RVEC students perform and achieve better than students nationwide.

In early colleges nationwide, for example, the student graduation rate is 90 percent, but RVEC’s is 97 percent.

RVEC also has a 100 percent rate of graduates that enroll in college. The rate nationwide is 71 percent.

RVEC has a rate of 51 percent of its high school students earning an Associate’s Degree or Certificate. The national rate for early colleges is 30 percent.

“We know RVEC works,” said President Griffin, “We have the data.

“RVEC students do very, very, very well,” he added. “We hear in the community that they can’t do it, but we have proof that they can.”

Woofter said school starts for early college students on Aug. 10, so it is imperative that the budget gets worked out by then. She also said early college will happen in Northampton County regardless of the state budget.

“We can’t afford not to offer early college,” Woofter said. “Early college students are halfway to their baccalaureates.”

She reminded the group that economic development depends upon an educated work force.

Griffin added that many early college graduates who go on to get a B.A. or B.S. degree return to the county.

Senator Smith-Ingram said, “We offer a wonderful way of life here.”

An unidentified parent said, “Our babies deserve everything we can give them.”

She said her daughter is excited about the early college opportunity and is already planning for her entry into Northampton’s early college.

“Our kids need this,” she said, “It’s a godsend.”

The senator responded, “It better prepares them for tomorrow and teaches them responsibility.”

She added, “We have to reach the conferees first. We’re here to serve you.”

Woofter said, “The General Assembly must intercede. We must offer early college for our students.”

She said if funding is not approved by the General Assembly, “We will have to go back to our budget.”