(RALEIGH) -- Gov. Beverly Perdue issued an executive order on Aug. 10 to protect a pre-kindergarten program that was scaled back in the state budget. Perdue sited a judge's ruling as a reason for the order, but Republican Sen. Bob Rucho, who helped write the budget said the Governor overstepped her authority.

"We pretty much conform along with what the judge was requesting of us and that's why I can't imagine, along with Senator Berger, that we're going to have very little to do to accommodate the judge's concerns," said Rucho.

Superior Court judge Howard Manning ruled last month that the state is required to serve any 4-year-old deemed at risk of falling behind their peers.  The recent state budget made significant changes to the pre-k program, including a 20 percent cut in funding that would reduce the availability of the program to at-risk children.