What Have Legislators Done? North Carolina has spent more than a decade watching the state’s public education system being battered and neglected by our elected officials. Over the years, Public Schools First NC has shared with you the many failures of the NC General Assembly, the NC Supreme Court, the U.S. Department of Education, and the U.S. Congress to support and fund our public schools. This onslaught of neglect and failures has led us to the bottom of the nation in both public education funding and funding effort.
Enough is Enough.
Why Does It Matter? The United States was built on the belief that a successful democracy needed an educated citizenry—that Americans could prosper if they had the knowledge and skills to fuel their own success as well as contribute to their communities and their county’s success by electing leaders who would further the democratic ideals of our founders. Our democracy’s cornerstone is the belief that all Americans need access to free public education in order to fully participate in our democracy. The nation’s early leaders also believed that having an educated citizenry would help guard against corruption and tyranny, and would foster shared civil values.
- James Madison, the “Father of the Constitution,” said that “a popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy”.
- John Adams said that the “diffusion of knowledge and opportunity through the lowest classes of the people is the only sure foundation of the preservation of our liberties”.
Too many current leaders at state and federal levels have abandoned these ideals and seek to hoard resources and opportunities for the wealthiest among us. North Carolina’s steady disinvestment in public schools and increased investment in private school tuition subsidies (vouchers) is one example.
How Have Privatizers Been Successful? We are watching the “school choice/privatization” playbook in action:
- Discredit. Wage a public relations campaign against public schools by calling them failing and push the idea that students will be better served in private schools.
- Defund. Underfund schools and eliminate the resources that have the greatest positive impact on academic performance, creating underperforming schools.
- Dismantle. Push private school vouchers as the solution to underperforming schools. As more public dollars go to private schools, public schools will start to close.
Unfortunately, this playbook works. We live in a time when misinformation and alternative facts are rampant and reach us at an unprecedented speed. It’s hard for public school advocates to cut through the noise and inform the public about the truth: our public schools are not failing, and most charter schools and voucher schools do not perform better than public schools. In fact, where data do exist to compare public schools and private voucher schools, the voucher schools perform much, much worse than public schools.
However, school privatizers will not stop pushing their playbook, so we MUST NOT stop fighting back with the truth.
Enough is Enough.
How Does Privatization Harm Our Public Education System?
Privatization in North Carolina is being pushed through charter school growth and private school tuition vouchers.
An increasingly large proportion of the state’s charter schools are being operated by private charter management companies that send taxpayer dollars to privately held organizations (See our charter school report.).
Direct, explicit privatization of education is occurring through the state’s universal private school voucher programs. Vouchers harm public schools by diverting crucial funding away from public schools, expanding racial/economic segregation, increasing education costs by funding tuition for students who were already in private school, undermining academic achievement (see our report on curriculum taught in private schools), and promoting discrimination. State legislators have diverted public funds to private schools that can exclude students based on ability/disability, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and income. This private school discrimination is absolutely NOT allowed in public schools, because public schools must follow both federal nondiscrimination laws and the state’s constitutional mandate to provide a free public education to all students.
Equally alarming is the lack of accountability. Voucher programs divert tax dollars to largely unregulated private entities that are not required to make their financial records public. Financial review by a CPA is required only for schools with 70+ voucher-receiving students. Private schools in North Carolina have no curriculum requirements and do not participate in the state testing program. As a result, there is no way to meaningfully evaluate the academic impact of vouchers. In addition, state law requires that only 4% of voucher applicants must be audited each year, leaving many opportunities for fraud. In addition, private schools receiving voucher funds aren’t required to hire licensed teachers, provide standardized curricula, or report student performance, unlike public schools.
By expanding vouchers to all families regardless of income or whether students had ever attended private schools, North Carolina legislators have added a new expense for taxpayers: paying private school subsidies for the wealthy.
As public funds subsidize private schools that don’t serve all students or meet public standards, our legislators have created a two-tiered system that undermines the inclusive mission of public education. We have seen in other states how this diversion of money leads to under-resourced public schools for the poor and marginalized, while private schools with the ability to charge tuition as well as accept endowments are also receiving public funds, creating incredible inequality.
When a student uses a voucher for private school, that state funding follows the student, leaving public schools with fewer resources for teachers, materials, and services. Public schools must still cover fixed costs (like buildings) even with fewer students.
The United States was founded on the belief in the “common good” as shown in our constitution’s preamble. Giving our tax dollars to private schools shifts our priority from strengthening inclusive public schools—which serve the majority of students—to subsidizing private education and weakening our public education system.
Enough is Enough!
What Does The Research Support?
Research overwhelmingly shows that private school vouchers are a failed policy. They should not be allowed at the state or federal level. Instead of focusing on bolstering private school vouchers, lawmakers should fully fund our public schools and promote strategies we know improve academic success and lifelong opportunities for all students. Lawmakers should be champions for equitable, full funding for our public schools including increasing teacher pay and special education funding, providing no cost meals and pre-k, and funding more resources to support youth mental health. Enough is Enough!
