Grave concerns regarding 'Opportunity Scholarship' program
Published August 4, 2015
by Amy Churchill, Buncombe Co. School Board Member and parent, published in Asheville Citizen Times, August 3, 2015.
As a parent, a member of the Buncombe County Board of Education, a conservative Republican, and a taxpayer, I have grave concerns about the “Opportunity Scholarship” program, which will now continue following a 4-3 split decision in the N.C. Supreme Court.
The program provides $4,200 vouchers for parents to send children to private, most often religious schools, while taking about $5,400 from public schools for each student leaving the public school. The state will save $1,200 for every student it sends to a private school, while our local public schools will have to pick up more and more of the tab to pay for instructional supplies, the higher cost of special needs students, transportation, support staff, utilities, and to keep kids safe.
With 113 applicants for the scholarships as of July 15, Buncombe County alone stands to lose nearly $1 million in state, local and other funding while the state saves $135,600. Those numbers will likely increase as more families apply. The fact is, the 90 percent of students attending public schools will receive less and less financial support, while the taxpayer dollars that are supposed to support all students are siphoned off and sent to unaccountable private schools. Our taxpayer dollars will also pay for marketing campaigns to contact parents and urge them to apply for scholarships — I personally received such a pitch via telephone, twice.
This isn’t just about the money. What type of education will students receive for the taxpayer dollars we send to private schools? We have no idea, and never will under the current N.C. law.
Private schools, unlike our public schools, are not held financially or instructionally accountable. They do not have to hire certified teachers, be accredited, use a state approved curriculum, or provide the results of student test scores. They can also discriminate based on religion — in fact, several Islamic academies will receive hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars through the program.
Private schools can pick and choose which students to admit. If a voucher student is kicked out, or leaves on their own, what happens to the taxpayers’ money? There is no provision for the funding to go back to the public school the student will attend. Just as important, how will the public school assimilate the student back into the classroom, since the curriculum isn’t the same? Won’t this place extra work on our teachers?
North Carolina ranks in the worst five states in the country for money spent on our kids’ education. How can we afford to send taxpayer dollars to private schools where there is little to no transparency or accountability, and where students may not receive the appropriate education our state constitution says we must provide? We can’t. And we need to let our legislators know.
This message is the opinion of Amy Churchill and is not intended to represent the official position of the Buncombe County Schools or the Buncombe County Board of Education.
August 4, 2015 at 10:39 am
Frank Burns says:
Allow me to explain. The problem is the failure of school boards like yours, to address the core problem. Parents are demanding options to public schools due to the poor learning environment. There is no discipline in the middle or high schools. Child advocacy lawyers are allowed entry into the schools to work their mischief. The teachers word is not respected and the principals take the side of the parents over the teachers. You all have created this permissive, undisciplined system so until you fix it, don't expect any support from the public.
August 4, 2015 at 11:05 am
Richard L Bunce says:
Oh, the howls continue... the parents decide where their child will go to school... we cannot stand for this... oh sure, relatively wealthy parents have been sending their children to other than traditional government schools for years, many of them religious based... many of these parents are progressives and vocal supporters of traditional government schools... just not for their children... and it appears they do not want relatively lower income children to have access to their alternate schools using education vouchers... what's that all about?
As for the math... the Education Vouchers are less than half of the average per student funding in NC traditional government schools. So IF the State actually funds the traditional government schools ~$5499 per enrolled student, that is still significantly below the average per student funding in NC traditional government schools. So when a student uses an education voucher to move from their government education bureaucrat assigned traditional government school to an alternate school of their parents choice then the average per student funding in that traditional government school will actually increase... one less student but not all the funding for that student.
In 2012 Buncombe County K-12 per student funding was $9865. Asheville City Schools was $12,957. Wake County Schools (includes Raleigh) was $8,208.
http://febp.newamerica.net/k12/NC/3700450
August 4, 2015 at 8:10 pm
Norm Kelly says:
'They can also discriminate based on religion'. Of course. That is unless you, as the parent, prefer to send your atheist child to a Christian school. Or your Christian child to a Jewish or Islamic school. But if you aren't of that faith, why would you want your kid to go to that school? But otherwise, why do you care that I choose to send my kid to a Christian school, where they not only teach reading & writing, but also pepper in some Christian beliefs? If your kid gets to attend the school of your choice at 'no cost', then why must my kid pay to attend the school of our choice?
Do the rules for schools who participate in the Scholarship program need to be tweaked? Of course. But the rules for public schools need to be tweaked as well. The difference is public schools resist tweaking with everything they have. Those who support public schools, and wish to prevent any kids attending a private school, even lie about private schools to enhance their argument. Perfect example: some Christian schools teach that dinosaurs and people shared the earth, and that the earth is only 6,000 years old. First off, being a Christian I have never heard ANY MENTION of dinosaurs from a Christian perspective. None. In addition, I have never heard any Christian professing that the earth is only 6,000 years old, nor has any Christian I know ever showed where the Bible indicates this is true. So, if it's not Biblical, and it's a Christian school, why would they be teaching such obviously false doctrine? Answer that seems to elude libs, public school proponents, and Christian haters: they would NOT be teaching this.
But the difference between public schools and private schools is PARENTAL CHOICE! If my private school starts teaching that dinos and people shared the earth, I have the option to remove my kid from that school, and tell other parents about the nonsense kids are being taught. What's my recourse with public schools and Boards of Ed? Darn little. And that's an overstatement! When public schools decide to teach kindergarten or 1st grade kids about homosexual lifestyle, and I object, most Boards of Ed refuse to hear parents objections. In a private school setting, the administration knows darn well the money will follow the kid. In the public school system, what is the motivation for Boards to adjust to parental requests? NONE!
When parents decided to place Republicans in charge of Wake County Board of Ed, one of the reasons and first steps was community schools. The idea presented by Republicans was that kids should be able to attend a school closer to home so it was easier for parents to be involved in their kids school life. When voters were fooled by lib pols and voters placed libs back in charge of Wake County Board of Ed, what were virtually their first 2 moves? First, fire Tony Tata at great expense, money the system could ill afford. Second, remove the idea of community schools, and return to busing. Some of the bus rides were said to be one hour or more for some kids. This is ridiculous! And it was contrary to what parents wanted. It was an idea that made libs 'feel' good, but was and is detrimental to more kids than it helps. A perfect example of Boards not running the public school system for the benefit of either the family or the kids.
Private schools have to be more open to parental input or go out of business. What happens to a public school that avoids parental input? Not a darn thing! Perhaps the principal gets a promotion.
