Governor urges GOPlegislators to fundpublic schools first

Editor’s Note : The following is a collection of reports from Gov. Roy Cooper’s press conference Thursday, provided by Cooper’s office.

RALEIGH — Yesterday, Governor Roy Cooper hosted a press conference to highlight the disastrous Republican scheme to spend hundreds of millions of dollars more on unaccountable taxpayer-funded private school vouchers while stripping funding from public schools.

The General Assembly plans to reconvene on Monday and instead of passing a budget or funding child care in North Carolina, Republican legislators plan to fully fund private school voucher expansion, equating to $625 million in new funding just this year. This expansion would disproportionately impact rural North Carolina counties, where access to private education is limited and public schools serve as the backbone of communities.

Cooper, Democrats urge Republicans not to reconsider proposal for more school voucher funding

Republican lawmakers shouldn’t spend another dime on vouchers for students to attend private schools, Gov. Roy Cooper and several Democratic lawmakers said Thursday, according to a news report from WRAL’s Emily Walkenhorst.

They should instead spend hundreds of millions in surplus dollars on raising teacher pay, Cooper said during a news conference in Raleigh.

The House and Senate — led by Republicans — are scheduled to return to Raleigh next week. While no agenda is set, Cooper said he believes Republicans plan to expand the state’s Opportunity Scholarship program.

Opportunity Scholarships are checks of up to about $7,500 that any family in the state can get to send their child to a private school. Voucher amounts are less for higher-income families.

Cooper and other Democrats argued that spending millions of dollars on families in the urban and suburban counties where private schools are concentrated means there’s not enough money left over for teacher raises across the state or to provide rural schools with more opportunities.

“Meanwhile, our public schools are struggling to hire teachers, bus drivers and other critical staff,” Cooper said.

Gov. Cooper blasts GOP voucher plan that could get a vote next week

In another report from the meeting from Colin Campbel of WUNC, State lawmakers are scheduled to return to Raleigh next week, and Democrats say they’re concerned the session will include new funding for private school vouchers.

Republican legislative leaders haven’t yet announced their plans for next week. But Gov. Roy Cooper and top legislative Democrats held a news conference Thursday to blast the possible voucher plan.

“Unfortunately Republicans in this legislature are trying to choke the life out of our public schools,” Cooper said. “And their constituents — we’re going to be depending on you this week — their constituents need to tell them to stop it.”

Spokepersons for Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore did not respond to inquiries about the session plans on Thursday. The brief session, set to begin Monday, has been on the calendar for months, and legislative leaders said earlier this summer that they could take up unfinished business on those dates but might not hold votes at all.

“I’ve not been officially informed or advised by the Senate Republican leadership of what’s on the agenda come Monday, but I’ve heard from reliable sources that vouchers will be an important part of what we take on for two or three days next week,” Senate Minority Leader Dan Blue, D-Wake, told reporters.

The Opportunity Scholarship voucher program ran out of money earlier this year before wealthier families received vouchers; the legislature had previously eliminated income caps for the program.

NC Newsline: Cooper, Dem lawmakers warn that school voucher expansion plans could be revived next week

Ahmed Jallow from NC Newsline reported that Gov. Roy Cooper and Democratic lawmakers said at a Thursday afternoon press conference that they expect Republican legislative leaders to revive their plans to expand the state’s controversial Opportunity Scholarships private school voucher program next week. The General Assembly returns to Raleigh on Monday to reconvene the legislative session that’s effectively been in recess since late June.

While Republican leaders have yet to announce their plans for next week, Senate Minority Leader Dan Blue, D-Wake, revealed that he believes new funding for vouchers will be on the agenda. “I’ve not been officially informed or advised by the Senate Republican leadership of what’s on the agenda come Monday,” said Senate Minority Leader Dan Blue, D-Wake. “But I’ve heard from reliable sources that vouchers will be an important part of what we take on for two or three days next week.” Neither the House nor the Senate calendars for Monday showed any scheduled business as of Thursday.

The program ran out of money earlier this year before 54,000 students could receive their vouchers. Last year, the General Assembly removed income caps, making all students eligible for vouchers regardless of income.

Despite efforts by Republican leaders to expand the program during the recent short session, negotiations collapsed due to disagreements over funding details.

If the expansion effort materializes, the governor and his fellow Democrats made clear they will be opposed. Cooper said the hundreds of millions of dollars Republicans are proposing to spend on private school vouchers could be better spent on public schools. “Let’s use this money for public schools instead,” Cooper said. “When you get wealthy people yet another tax break for these vouchers, it is extremely difficult to get a future legislature to ever take it away. That means $4 billion less for our public schools over the next decade.”