I know what you’re thinking. “It’s mighty early in the school-year for an education rant.” (And if that’s not what you were thinking, it is now). But I just can’t help it. It’s not that I’m trying to be negative and pessimistic. It’s not that I want to be a Debbie-Downer. But as a pragmatist, North Carolina’s “balanced” budget really gets under my skin. And it itches. And yes, I know. When something itches, you’re not supposed to scratch it because in the long run that just makes it itch more. But sometimes scratching it just feels so good, even if it’s just for a minute or two. And it’s especially hard to ignore the itch when you have nothing to distract you from it. Usually my students draw the attention away from that bureaucratic crawl that gets under my skin every year, but teacher workdays don’t give you much distraction. They actually fuel the fire with endless and copious meetings, followed by a meeting to discuss the previous meeting, in which you will plan a foll...