RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — More funding for private school vouchers in North Carolina is temporarily off the table after Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed House Bill 10.
The governor, joined by educators and school board members from across the state, said the money should go to public schools first , and the almost half a billion dollars could be better used to give those schools more resources.
NC lawmakers pass $463 million school voucher bill Republican state lawmakers voted earlier in September to allocate $463 million for private school vouchers. This came after lawmakers expanded voucher eligibility to all families earlier in the year and demand exploded, with around 55,000 students still on a waitlist.
Cooper maintains he is not against private schools, but says many of these vouchers will go to people who can already afford to pay private school tuition.
“It works for some children,” he said. “But I am against taking taxpayer dollars out of the public schools and giving it to private school vouchers for the wealthiest North Carolinians. That is exactly what HB 10 does.”
The governor added under this bill, rural communities would suffer the most.
“Most of these private schools that get this voucher money are in our urban areas,” Cooper said. “That’s where the money will go.”
Educators said this money could instead be used for things like raising teacher pay and paying retention bonuses, which are proposed in the governor’s budget. Along with school board members and county officials, they called on state lawmakers to uphold the governor’s veto.
NC General Assembly sends immigration bill to Gov. Cooper’s desk “When I think about these funds, I realize they could go to technology, new and updated facilities, textbooks, and support for students with disabilities,” said Elyse Cannon McCrae, a social studies teacher in Pitt County. “You have to do right with this public funding. You have to support public education, the great equalizer in North Carolina.”
Carlos Riddick, who chairs the Washington County Board of Education, also spoke Friday.
“We cannot afford to let this bill pass,” Riddick said. “It’s time to stand up for our public schools, our communities, and, most importantly, our children.”
Vouchers are not the only controversial topic in the bill . HB10 would also require sheriffs to cooperate with federal immigration officials and hold inmates charged with serious crimes if they are believed to be in the country unlawfully. Cooper has vetoed similar legislation twice before.
Gov. Cooper and other Democratic state leaders push to stop expansion of North Carolina’s voucher program NCGOP Communications Director Matt Mercer released a statement on the governor’s veto:
“Gov. Roy Cooper’s disappointing veto of HB 10 is completely expected. Requiring sheriffs to cooperate with ICE while over 10 million illegal immigrants have poured across the southern border is a common sense measure to help keep North Carolina safe.
“Funding Opportunity Scholarships allows families to choose an education plan that works best for them is a common sense way to improve student outcomes,” the statement continues. “It is unfortunate in his final weeks in office, Gov. Cooper would continue to play political games at the expense of North Carolina families.”
Republican lawmakers have said they likely will not address overriding the governor’s veto until after the November election.
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