Jackson school board signs resolution against private school vouchers
The Jackson County Board of Education has signed a resolution urging the North Carolina General Assembly to prioritize public education over funding an expansion to the private school voucher system.
“We don’t believe that public school money should go to private sectors,” said Jackson County Schools Superintendent Dana Ayers.
Earlier this year, Gov. Roy Cooper declared 2024 “The Year of Public Schools” in North Carolina as part of a call for more funding for K-12 public education.
In 2023 the General Assembly expanded the Opportunity Scholarship program, the K-12 private school voucher program and eliminated the income cap that was previously required to qualify for the scholarship. Though the General Assembly has not passed a budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year, lawmakers have recommended funding for the voucher program to increase to over a half-billion dollars.
In North Carolina, about 84% of school age children attend public schools. In Jackson County that number sits at about 50%. According to Ayers, that number is significantly lower than the state average because Jackson County students enrolled in Cherokee Central Schools on the Qualla Boundary are not counted in the attendance rate.
Additionally, while students attending charter schools are counted in the state’s public school attendance rate, they are not counted among the 50% enrolled in JCPS.
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“The diversions of public funds to private schools through taxpayer funds poses a significant financial threat to public schools potentially depriving them of essential resources and compromising the quality of education,” the resolution reads.
According to JCPS administration, the school system could stand to lose $574,869 in state funding within the first year of the expanded voucher system.
The resolution asks the General Assembly to prioritize public education by “substantially increasing teacher salaries to pay teachers as the professionals they are and to attract and retain qualified educators,” as well as “allocating significant funding for early childhood education, quality childcare and pre-K programs to ensure all children have access to a strong education foundation.”
In addition to the expanded voucher program, Pandemic-era federal grants to child care providers ran out July 1 , creating a funding gap for early childhood education and child care centers across the region.
Jackson County is home to three private schools — two Christian institutions as well as New Kituwah Academy, the Cherokee language immersion school.
But Jackson County families could use the voucher system to attend private schools in Jackson County, or anywhere else they may choose.
“There are three [private schools] in Jackson County, but Haywood, Macon, all of these, and there are online private academies too that children can go to and that voucher system can be used as well,” said Ayers.
The board approved the resolution by a 4-1 vote with Kim Moore the lone dissenter.
Moore said that while she was personally in favor of the resolution, she did not have enough time prior to the June 25 board meeting after receiving the resolution to determine whether it was the best position to take for all her constituents.
“One thing I would say towards that though is you’re representing Jackson County Public Schools, and this is talking about taking money away from Jackson County Public Schools,” said board member Wes Jamison.
Ayers told the board that the resolution itself came from the governor’s office, but that the school system worked with its lawyer to make edits to the document to make it less political before bringing it before the board.
“I don’t like the way that the funding goes to the charter schools because I don’t think they are held to the same accountability or standards that public schools are,” said Board Chair Elizabeth Cooper. “I don’t think that funding is fair to public schools. I think it hurts a certain demographic and population and I think this could be detrimental to public schools as far as the voucher system.”
Board member Abigail Clayton said that she had been hearing about this issue from her constituents prior to seeing the resolution.
“I’ve had plenty of conversations with folks in the community that feel strongly that public schools just continue to have more and more taken from them while the expectations just continue to grow,” said Clayton. “I think JCPS has felt that. So, I do personally agree with the resolution.”
