RALEIGH, N.C.  – The top education leaders in North Carolina are meeting with Gov. Beverly Perdue for the first time since a state budget passed that required painful belt-tightening.

Perdue scheduled a meeting of the North Carolina Education Cabinet on Wednesday in Durham. The cabinet includes state schools Superintendent June Atkinson, State Board of Education Chairman Bill Harrison, UNC system President Erskine Bowles and community colleges chief Scott Ralls.

The General Assembly approved a budget signed by Perdue last month that required local school districts and UNC to find about $300 million in spending reductions this fiscal year. Less money means layoffs on some campuses and larger class sizes elsewhere.

Perdue has tried to revive the Education Cabinet, designed to provide better cooperation throughout public education.