This race to lead North Carolina’s public schools is a microcosm for national politics because the candidates represent two starkly different philosophies.
The General Assembly approved the expansion of the Opportunity Scholarship program to help wealthy families pay for private school, but declined to include extra money to raise teacher pay. Local leaders, parents, and legislators say this latest round of funding will hurt public school teachers and students.
The North Carolina legislature just agreed to pump more public money into private schools. Here's why that's bad for children with disabilities.
As the school year begins, North Carolina public school teacher Sarah Lewis found herself not just preparing lesson plans, but footing a bill her state should be covering.
NC lawmakers are rapidly expanding publicly-funded funded vouchers for private schools while public schools remain underfunded. A North Carolina lawmaker dishes on who has the most to lose.
Democrats say that if they were in charge of the state legislature, every student would have the right to a safe and inclusive school, excellent teachers, and ample resources.
“I think maybe the most confounding mystery is why so many rural legislators vote to take taxpayer money out of their own public schools and send it to the large number of private schools in the city,” he said.
The promise of North Carolina’s private school vouchers almost sounds reasonable at first blush. The very name of the program — Opportunity Scholarships — reflects the theory that providing low-income families with money for private school tuition could open up new possibilities for students who are stuck in overwhelmed public schools.
The Republican-controlled legislature helped wealthy families pay for private school, offered teacher raises that lag behind inflation, and continued to ignore court-orders to adequately fund public schools.
