State Port Pilot, 05.17.23
It is noted in the Bible that “No one can serve two masters. Either you hate the one and love the other, …” A similar statement can be made about political leaders in Raleigh. They can (or will) not adequately fund two NC school systems (public and private). They will feed one and starve the other. A political blogger noted that approximately ten years ago legislators insisted that “Opportunity Scholarships” were designed to give poor kids a chance to attend private schools. They were not going to subsidize kids from wealthy families. Unfortunately, they did not keep their word.
During the past ten years, teachers’ pay and pupil spending in public schools dwindled. Hundreds of teaching assistants lost their jobs. Meanwhile, increased funding of private schools led to this recent headline in a regional newspaper, “NC GOP Seeks Big Private School Voucher Expansion.” Currently, private school students share $133 million in Opportunity Scholarship awards. Proposed legislation would increase these awards to $500 million by 2032 without a limit for family income! Some critics have expressed concerns about taxpayer dollars going to private schools that refuse to admit some students on religious and other grounds.
Since the local Boards of Commissioners and Education rejected my proposed resolution recently in support of the Leandro Plan, $28 million in additional funding for BC schools, it may take a public outcry for them to pass a resolution opposing this exorbitant increase in private school funding. Please tell your political representatives at the county, district, and state levels to increase funding for public schools instead of private schools.
William Flythe
Southport