NC Republican lawmakers plan to increase private school scholarships funding to meet demand
Republican House Speaker Tim Moore said Wednesday that the General Assembly plans to fund more money for the Opportunity Scholarship program.
The program uses taxpayer money to fund private school scholarships, and it was expanded to nearly all families this past year. However demand has exceeded supply.
Moore said that Republican lawmakers, who hold a veto-proof supermajority in the legislature, want to allocate more funding.
Moore said that both an additional $300 million for the private school scholarships and $400 million for Medicaid are being discussed as lawmakers begin budget conversations and get ready for the legislative short session that begins in two weeks, on April 24.
He said that leaders still need to get revenue numbers after the upcoming Tax Day to determine how much money they could add to the scholarship program, but that $300 million would be needed to fund vouchers for all those who have applied.
“If we can get there and find a way to do it, I’d like to do that,” he said, but noted that it could end up being less than $300 million.
What about raises for teachers, state employees?
Moore said Republican budget leaders would still like to give additional raises to teachers, school personnel and state employees this year, and he doesn’t see the scholarships funding interfering with that.
“I think there’s still money there to make sure we take care of our teachers and state employees as well,” he said, though not saying how much those raises might be.
The N.C. State Education Assistance Authority notified families of the 72,000 new Opportunity Scholarship applicants earlier this month that there’s not enough money to offer most of them vouchers, The News & Observer previously reported.
“There’s much more demand for it. There’s a lot of parents who want their kids to be attending either religious or private school. And so I think we ought to be able to step up,” Moore said.
He said the money would come from the state’s savings reserve.
Most of the new scholarships for this upcoming school year will go to families whose incomes are low enough to qualify for federally subsidized school meals, but lobbying began to encourage an increase in funding.
Democrats oppose public money for private schools
Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper has called for a pause on awarding the scholarships.
“Our public schools are at risk because the legislature is trying to dismantle them,” Cooper said recently.
Support for or against private school scholarships funded with public money falls largely along party lines, with Democrats opposed and Republicans in favor.
The scholarship expansion was a major issue of Republican N.C. Rep. Tricia Cotham of Mecklenburg County, who switched parties from Democrat about a year ago — the final lawmaker needed for Republicans to gain their current supermajority.
All 170 state lawmakers and the governor are up for election this fall.
This story was originally published April 10, 2024 at 1:54 PM with the headline "NC Republican lawmakers plan to increase private school scholarships funding to meet demand."
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