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Friday, October 11, 2024

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Florida picks up the pieces after Hurricane Milton; Georgia elected officials say Hurricane Helene was a climate change wake-up call; Hosiers are getting better civic education; the Senate could flip to the GOP in November; New Mexico postal vans go electric; and Nebraska voters debate school vouchers.

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Civil rights groups push for a voter registration deadline extension in Georgia, federal workers helping in hurricane recovery face misinformation and threats of violence, and Brown University rejects student divestment demands.

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Hurricane Helene has some rural North Carolina towns worried larger communities might get more attention, mixed feelings about ranked choice voting on the Oregon ballot next month, and New York farmers earn money feeding school kids.

NC voucher bill sparks debate over public school funding, equity

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Tuesday, September 17, 2024   

Advocates for public education are reacting to the North Carolina House passing legislation to funnel millions of state dollars into private school voucher programs.

House Bill 10 allocates more than $460 million for what are known as "Opportunity Scholarships." Supporters' goal is to clear the current waitlist of 55,000 applicants for private school scholarships. Critics are worried about money being siphoned away from public schools.

Heather Koons, communications director for the group Public Schools First NC, said expanding the voucher program comes at a cost, affecting everything from teacher pay to school maintenance.

"We have data showing that they could have hired more than 2,100 school health personnel," Koons reported. "That would have been enough to make sure that there is at least a nurse in every school. And we need counselors, we need school social workers. They could have done that instead."

She noted it could also affect the economy, as public schools are a top employer in 91 out of 100 counties. The measure requires local sheriffs to report to federal immigration officials if someone is charged with specific crimes and it is unclear if they are a legal U.S. resident.

A recent South Carolina Supreme Court ruling struck down the state's voucher program, declaring it unconstitutional to use taxpayer money for private schools, in a narrow 3-2 decision.

Beyond financial concerns, Koons' group also questioned the equity and constitutionality of the North Carolina bill. She explained many private schools that benefit from voucher funds are religious institutions and have their own rules about who can attend.

"These private schools also discriminate in their admission policies," Koons emphasized. "They don't provide school lunches, they don't provide services for students with disability, in addition to many of them not accepting students outside of their religion, or students who are LGBTQ+."

The bill is now on Gov. Roy Cooper's desk. While a veto is possible, some worry Republican supermajorities in both the House and Senate could override it.

Disclosure: Public Schools First NC contributes to our fund for reporting on Children's Issues, Education, and Mental Health. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


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