By Kia Wynne
Governor Roy Cooper has called for a moratorium, a temporary suspension, on private school vouchers as the expansion of the state’s Opportunity Scholarship takes effect.
The Opportunity Scholarship was created by the General Assembly in 2013 to create vouchers to help parents to pay tuition and fees of eligible private schools.
In the past, Cooper has been known to oppose vouchers that want to divert public funds to private schools.
“2024 will be the year of Public Schools.” Cooper said. The governor visited Concord on Jan. 25 to promote social and academic growth for students as part of his “Year of Public Schools” campaign.
He plans to suspend private school vouchers to last until public schools are fully funded.The Office of State Budget and Management released an analysis which showed the proposed expansion of the Opportunity Scholarship could actually reduce public school funding by more than $200 million.
“I don’t know anything about that scholarship program, but the practice of giving taxpayer money to private schools is much larger than this case,” said Terry Cooper, Professor Emeritus of Public Policy at the University of Southern California. “Almost all private colleges and universities receive public funds for scholarships and research. Governor Cooper’s expression of concern seems to have ignored that existing reality.”
The governor has been seen in public schools over the last year to make the public aware of the issues they have while bringing attention to the desire of better pay for teachers and better funding overall.
For the past year, Cooper has been working on getting teachers an 18% pay raise.
The Senate budget plan from last summer, House Bill 259, included teacher pay and funding for the scholarship gave beginning K-12 teachers a 10.8% increase. Teachers with at least 14 years of experience will receive an approximate $20 pay raise on average.
The raise will take place over the course of two years. In the first year of the two year process, teachers will receive a 4.25 % pay raise and the second year they will receive a 3.25% pay raise.
Cooper wishes to have more funding for teachers pay as well as public schools.
Public schools “need all the financial help that they can get” in the case of having certified personnel, classified, and mental support for students according to Katy Brewer, Retired tutor of Public Schools of Robeson County.
“My belief is that regardless of a child’s economic status, all children deserve an equal education to level the playing field,” Brewer said.“I’m against using public educational funds to support private schools. These funds should stay in the public school system.”
The Opportunity Scholarship has received some changes for the 2024-2025 school year. One of those changes is that all students in grades K-12 are eligible for the scholarship regardless of income.
Students who are eligible for the scholarship are those without a high school diploma. The award for the scholarship is granted to allow a student to attend a nonpublic school on a full or part-time basis.
There is no longer the requirement of students having to be enrolled in a public school prior to the scholarship. This will allow students from private schools to apply for the scholarship as well as students from public schools.
The amount that will be given to the student who wins the scholarship will be based on the income of the household. The scholarship amounts will range from $3,000 to $7,000. Any student can receive as much as 45% of their private school tuition from the fund.
The North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority (SEAA) administers the Opportunity Scholarship. The SEAA promotes access to higher education by administering financial aid and savings programs. The agency works with students and their families by informing them about how to pay for college while teaching educators about financial aid administration.
For more information on the analysis published by North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management, visit their site: https://governor.nc.gov/documents/files/osbm-s406-h823-impact-analysis/open