Gov. Cooper highlights Republican legislators plan to fund private schools over public schools

RALEIGH — Gov. Roy Cooper voiced opposition Thursday to NC Republicans’ plan to spend millions on private school vouchers over more funding for public schools.

Cooper and Democratic legislative leaders held a press conference Thursday highlighting Republican legislators’ “disastrous” plan to spend hundreds of millions of dollars more on taxpayer funded private school vouchers instead of directing that spending to public schools.

The Governor was joined by Rep. Robert Reives, Sen. Dan Blue, Sen. Michael Garrett, Sen. Lisa Grafstein, Rep. Sarah Crawford and Rep. Cynthia Ball.

Robeson County has seven private schools, at which 2% of students in the county attend, according to the Website privateschoolreview.com.

“Republican legislators are returning to Raleigh to siphon hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars out of public schools and give it to the wealthy through private school vouchers,” Cooper said. “This would be disastrous for our public schools and the future of our state. They should invest in public education instead so we can give teachers an overdue pay raise.”

The General Assembly plans to reconvene on Monday.

North Carolina, Republican legislators are expected to fund private school voucher expansion, equating to $625 million in new funding this year, according to information from Cooper’s office.

Expanding private school vouchers would disproportionately impact rural North Carolina counties, where access to private education is limited and public schools serve as the backbone of communities, according to a statement fom Cooper’s office on Thursday.

”More than one-quarter (28) of North Carolina’s counties – all rural counties – have no or just one private school participating in the voucher program. By diverting public funds to wealthier urban areas, private school vouchers are deepening the resource gap and undermining the educational opportunities for rural students,” according to a prepared statement from Cooper’s office on Thursday.

Private schools that receive vouchers are not regulated and are not accountable to taxpayers despite receiving taxpayer money, according to a prepared statement from Cooper’s office on Thursday. Vouchers cover tuition for schools that don’t have to report how students are performing, don’t have to serve all students regardless of race, gender, socioeconomic status or religious beliefs or don’t have to hire licensed teachers.

Public schools that serve more than 84% of students are continuously asked to do more with less. North Carolina ranks near the bottom of all states in K-12 funding, spending nearly $5,000 less per student than the national average, according to a prepared statement from Cooper’s office on Thursday. The state is falling behind nationally in teacher pay, dropping in the most recent rankings to 38th.