Governor Pat McCrory says that he and Republican leaders are making headway on resolving differences over the state budget.
He made an unusual visit to the legislature Thursday where he says he touched base and continued dialogue with lawmakers. McCrory says he spent more than an hour and a half talking with Senate leaders this week.
“I did present both the Senate and House caucuses, I think, breakthrough plans on how to work out our differences,” he said.
Perhaps the biggest sticking point is over teacher pay. State leaders still can't come to an agreement over how large pay raises should be and if they should come at the expense of teacher assistants.
McCrory says he supports a potential plan that could give local school districts more authority. They could choose if they want to keep money for teacher assistants or divert it for additional raises.
Lawmakers are scheduled to meet Friday morning.
