With the NC General Assembly looking at expanding the Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP), critics of school choice have been very vocal and some even hostile towards Republican lawmakers. Opponents of the OSP are upset with tax money allotted for each student going to private schools instead of to state funded public schools even if the student is not enrolled in the public school system. But if the state already allocates funds for each student, then why are they so upset if the money follows the child?
Opponents of the OSP argue that since private schools are not bound by a standard curriculum, the caliber of education might be compromised. Yet, there exist academic conditions for obtaining a diploma. In accordance with North Carolina laws 115C-550 and G.S. 115C-558, which both state that each non-public school "... shall establish a minimum score which must be attained by each student on the selected test in order to be graduated from high school."
A widely held belief is that supporting public schools and the OSP simultaneously is impossible. Contradicting this notion, we discussed this with Jamey Wycoff, a Republican Burke County School Board Candidate who advocates for school choice. Wycoff says that it is possible to support both, but first it is crucial to recognize why public schools are losing students at an enormous rate to private schools and homeschooling in the first place. He attributes the exodus to parental concerns regarding the direction of public schools, particularly in the wake of the Covid-19 response. Wycoff believes that the competition to gain and retain students will only make public schools better.
Wycoff also said, “I realize that it is the duty of a school board member to advocate for public schools which I do. I have children enrolled in public schools. However, I think it's somewhat wrong for school districts to get money for a student who isn't in their district. State hospitals, like Broughton, don't get funds for patients staying at different facilities. This should be the same for money allocated for students. Parents who pay taxes should have the power to decide where the money for their child’s education goes, especially if they are choosing a private school as a matter of their faith or concerns in academics. Determining where you want your child to attend school is the core of parents’ rights and I believe the money already allotted should follow the child.”
An additional point of contention is that private schools do not adequately cater to children with special needs or disabilities. Wycoff disagrees with this claim, stating, “Some private Christian schools are not able to take students who require special learning needs unless they have staff who are trained in that area. However, those students usually go to public schools anyway because of the success and the great care provided by the Exceptional Children (EC) program. But on the other hand, there are private schools across the state that specifically address the needs of children with special needs such as autism. And the allotted $7,500 per year is only about a third or even a quarter of the yearly tuition for these schools. The Lionheart Academy in Greensboro, which caters specifically for children with autism, costs $20,000 per year. Most parents who have children that attend these special schools require scholarships and financial assistance for yearly tuition. The tuition costs are high due to the need for a low teacher to student ratio which is required to be successful. These types of private schools are rarely mentioned in the argument against the OSP.”
Wycoff also draws attention to the fact that private colleges and universities, many of which have Christian roots, receive state funding. He notes that there is usually no opposition to state funding for private religious universities like Duke and Wake Forest. The North Carolina Independent Schools and Universities website documents that North Carolina residents can receive up to $7,640, depending on financial need, with the North Carolina Need Based Grant which is almost the same amount that the state allocates per K-12 student yearly.
Opponents of the OSP also say that the program is just paying for the wealthier families to attend private schools. The scholarships range from approximately $3,000 to $7,000. This amount received is based on a family’s household income and it operates with four tiers, tier one being the lowest income. Families with lower incomes would be eligible for the full scholarship amount, approximately $7,400 for the current year, while households in three income brackets would receive scholarships at rates of 90%, 60%, and 45%, individually. It is important to note that due to the overwhelming number of new applicants after the expansion in the program last year, no new applicants above the 2nd tier were awarded a scholarship for the upcoming school year. Thousands of families remain on a waiting list hoping to receive a scholarship which will be prioritizing the lowest-income families first.
Are public schools losing money due to the OSP? As mentioned in a previous article about the expansion of the OSP, Senator Mike Lee (R-New Hanover) pointed out that even with this year's appropriation, the OSP amounts to about 3% of the overall education budget and just under 4.5% of the K-12 budget. He emphasized that in the grand scheme of the education budget, the impact of the scholarship program remains relatively small. Currently the General Assembly has made education its largest expenditure which constitutes 58% of its annual budget. This number has risen substantially from 2015 when the state budgeted just 36.7% towards education.
Proponents for the OSP often use the phrase that the "money should follow the child”. This has been compared by some lawmakers to the state’s Medicare program called “Money Follows the Person.” This program allows individuals on Medicaid to transition from qualified long-term care facilities to a community-based facility or their own home. According to the state’s Department of Health and Human Services website, one of the objectives of this program is to “eliminate barriers that prevent or restrict Medicaid-eligible individuals from receiving long-term care in the settings of choice.” Sounds very similar to the idea of school choice and the OSP.
Several polls show that voters in all political parties overwhelmingly support school choice. RealClear Opinion Research surveyed 1,000 registered voters from June 27-30, 2023, which showed substantial support for school choice: 71% vs. 13%. Cygnal Polling surveyed 600 likely North Carolina general election voters from January 21-22, 2024. An overwhelming seventy-seven percent of these voters say that parents are best suited to decide where a child should attend school. The poll also showed that nearly two thirds (64%) supported the OSP while around a quarter (26%) opposed.
While some individuals resist the idea of giving funds from the government to private institutions, most champion the principles of school choice. Tommy Schultz, CEO of the American Federation for Children, stated, “School choice support is here to stay, and politicians who ignore this reality do so at their own peril. Parents are the new interest group in town, and legislators would be wise to keep responding to their needs. The days of the old one-size-fits-all model are numbered, welcome news for the countless students who need something different to learn and thrive.”
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