Gov. Roy Cooper and Democratic legislators spoke out on Thursday against what they say will be a Republican attempt to expand the state’s private school voucher program when the General Assembly returns to Raleigh next week. (Photo: Ahmed Jallow)
Gov. Roy Cooper and Democratic lawmakers said at a Thursday afternoon press conference that they expect Republican legislative leaders to revive their plans to expand the state’s controversial Opportunity Scholarships private school voucher program next week. The General Assembly returns to Raleigh on Monday to reconvene the legislative session that’s effectively been in recess since late June.
While Republican leaders have yet to announce their plans for next week, Senate Minority Leader Dan Blue, D-Wake, revealed that he believes new funding for vouchers will be on the agenda. “I’ve not been officially informed or advised by the Senate Republican leadership of what’s on the agenda come Monday,” said Senate Minority Leader Dan Blue, D-Wake. “But I’ve heard from reliable sources that vouchers will be an important part of what we take on for two or three days next week.” Neither the House nor the Senate calendars for Monday showed any scheduled business as of Thursday.
The program ran out of money earlier this year before 54,000 students could receive their vouchers. Last year, the General Assembly removed income caps, making all students eligible for vouchers regardless of income.
Despite efforts by Republican leaders to expand the program during the recent short session, negotiations collapsed due to disagreements over funding details.
If the expansion effort materializes, the governor and his fellow Democrats made clear they will be opposed. Cooper said the hundreds of millions of dollars Republicans are proposing to spend on private school vouchers could be better spent on public schools. “Let’s use this money for public schools instead,” Cooper said. “When you get wealthy people yet another tax break for these vouchers, it is extremely difficult to get a future legislature to ever take it away. That means $4 billion less for our public schools over the next decade.”
Democrats highlighted disparities in voucher distribution, noting that more funds are flowing into Wake and Mecklenburg counties than into the bottom 70% of North Carolina’s counties combined. “This isn’t about providing opportunity,” said Senator Michael Garrett, D-Guilford. “It is about deepening the divide between urban and rural areas and the haves and the have-nots.”
Garrett also criticized the program’s lack of accountability. “This program isn’t just inequitable, it’s unaccountable. These private schools receiving voucher funds are not required to meet the same standards as our public schools, and yet, we are sending them millions of dollars in public money—your tax dollars.” said Garrett.
Democrats presented data showing that nearly half of all voucher schools in North Carolina are located in just 10 counties, leaving rural students behind. They also noted that almost 30% of counties have one or fewer voucher schools, and nearly 75% of the state’s 666 voucher schools are religious institutions.
“The bottom line is this: Republicans have rigged the system to benefit the wealthy, while our most vulnerable students are left to fend for themselves,” said House Democratic Leader Robert T. Reives II, D-Chatham and Randolph Counties.