Public money for private schools? Two views
Starting with the 2014-15 academic year, North Carolina’s Opportunity Scholarship Act will offer a $4,200 voucher to pay for low-income children in public schools to attend private schools.
The legislation, which the N.C. General Assembly passed in July 2013, captures two contentious topics in the state: school choice and the idea of using public dollars for private purposes. Proponents believe the program can offer another schooling option to children in low-performing schools. Opponents worry about the implications of sending state school funds to support private schools, and the lack of what they see as sufficient oversight of private schools in North Carolina.
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Yes or no to school vouchers? Bill Anderson: Where are the real opportunities in the ‘Opportunity’ act? Rob Bryan: A choice that gives students and parents a chance |
To help illustrate the differing academic, monetary and moral arguments for and against school vouchers, the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute asked Rep. Robert Bryan, R-Mecklenburg, and Bill Anderson to weigh in. Bryan is a Charlotte lawyer and a Teach For America alumnus who represents District 88 in the N.C. General Assembly. Anderson is a former principal at Myers Park High School in Charlotte and is executive director of MeckEd, a nonpartisan group supporting public education.
Opinions expressed are the writers’ and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute or the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.