NC to spend billions on private school vouchers over 10 years as Republicans override Cooper’s veto

On Wednesday, the Senate followed the House of Representatives in overriding Governor Cooper’s veto of HB 10. A key component of the bill greatly expands the state’s private school voucher system.

In a 30-19 vote, the North Carolina Senate voted to override Governor Roy Cooper’s veto of HB 10. In part, the bill will expand the state’s commitment to the Opportunity Scholarship, which provides taxpayer funds to parents who enroll their children in private schools that accept the voucher, adding an additional 55,000 potential vouchers in the state. 

Under this latest expansion of the voucher program, students are eligible to apply regardless of income level, and it means the state will spend a total of $5.8 billion dollars in funding between now and 2033.

Wednesday’s vote followed the House vote on Tuesday to override the veto by a 72-44 margin.

Cooper strongly criticized the legislature prioritizing voucher expansion while many parts of Western North Carolina are still recovering from Hurricane Helene and are seeking funds for their communities from the General Assembly.

“…legislators should invest billions of dollars in Western North Carolina recovery instead of locking in billions for private school vouchers,” Cooper said in a statement last week.

State Rep. Julie von Haefen, a Democrat representing parts of southern Wake County, criticized the priorities of the Republican supermajority during the floor debate in the House, and noted that the vast majority of children in North Carolina attend public schools.

“Clearly, the hardest hit counties across North Carolina will be the most affected, because their families do not benefit from the millions of dollars we’ve appropriated in this bill,” she said.

Some counties within the impacted parts of western North Carolina have a handful of private schools, or none at all. Ashe County has no private schools, while counties such as Avery, Watauga, Wilkes, and McDowell have two each. The majority of private schools in western North Carolina are located in Buncombe County, which has 35.

How Scholarships are awarded

Funds are awarded based on household income and the number of people in the household. Students are considered to be Tier 1 (Highest priority), Tier 2, Tier 3, or Tier 4. Tier 1 students receive up to $7,468 towards tuition, while the highest income families can receive up to $3,360.

Carolina Journal reported earlier this year that out of roughly 72,000 scholarships awarded this year, 13,511 (18.76%), were in Tier 1.

According to Private School Report, the average cost of a private education for the 2024-2025 school year is $11,038 per year. This means that even if a student in Tier 1 is granted the maximum amount, the family is likely to still need to pay the remainder of tuition out of pocket or through other means of support outside the scholarship.

What it means

The immediate impact of HB 10 will be an additional $541 million dollars allocated to the Opportunity Scholarship for the current school year. 

This will greatly impact the state’s public schools as well. When a student leaves a public school, that school loses around $7,500 in funding from the state. Currently, state funding per pupil is already far lower in North Carolina than in many other states, spending $10,791 per student, $4,695 less than the national average.

North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE) President Tamika Walker Kelly released a statement on Wednesday, criticizing the vote by the General Assembly.

“Spending millions of taxpayer dollars to fund private school vouchers while public schools remain underfunded, public school educators are asked to do more with less, and as the western part of our state is still recovering from the devastating impact of Helene is irresponsible,” she said.

In addition to the expansion of private school vouchers, the bill also requires local sheriffs in North Carolina to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).