North Carolina is expected to have something of a windfall this year, as the state is headed toward a $552.5-million budget surplus this year.

This surplus is more than $100 million larger that the $425-million surplus last year and $400 million the year before. The question is what the North Carolina General Assembly will choose to do with the extra money.

A certain faction would have that money go to tax cuts for families and small businesses. Another faction would have that money spent on education.

Where does Beaufort County stand?

There is no doubt that Beaufort County needs more industry; the county needs more jobs.

There is no doubt that Beaufort County Schools needs more money. Just last year, the school system had to cut 32 positions. This year, administrators may have to eliminate a few more. As it is, capital projects — new buildings, improvements and maintenance — are routinely put off by the county. A choice between retaining positions or making repairs is not much of a choice at all.

Just as the county needs more jobs, the school system needs a boost. The two actually tie in to one another. It’s difficult to attract industry to place that lacks a ready and educated work force; people who are able to transition from being students to being quality employees because their education has armed them with the tools they need to succeed. Any investment in education, whether it’s new classrooms, new equipment or more teachers to lower the student-teacher ratio, is an investment in the people of Beaufort County.

Hopefully, the General Assembly will realize that education is an investment in the future, not only of that of the individual, but in the future of that graduate’s family, small businesses they patronize and the economic health of a region.