The N.C. State Education Assistance Authority notified families of the 72,000 new Opportunity Scholarship applicants on Friday that there’s not enough money to offer most of them vouchers. Most of the new scholarships for this fall will go to families whose incomes are low enough to qualify for federally subsidized school meals.
Now there’s lobbying to encourage the Republican legislative supermajority to add additional voucher funding during this year’s short session that begins April 24. Lawmakers provided $293.5 million for vouchers for the 2024-25 school year — 62% more than was available this school year.
“The surge in Opportunity Scholarship applications is the latest sign that North Carolina families value having choice in education,” Lauren Horsch, a spokesperson for Senate leader Phil Berger, said in an email Monday. “Just like any other budget item, legislators will discuss potential funding changes as they make budget revisions during the short session.”
Lowest-income applicants will get new vouchers
State lawmakers changed the Opportunity Scholarship program so that any family regardless of their income could apply for a private school voucher. The eligibility changes led to a more than 500% increase in applications over the 11,617 applications received last year.
The applicants were grouped into four tiers based on their family income. The NCSEAA says only applicants in the two tiers with the lowest incomes will currently get any new scholarships this year.
New vouchers for the maximum amount of $7,468 per child were awarded Friday to 13,511 applicants from Tier 1. Those families have until April 19 to let the NCSEAA know if they’re accepting the scholarship.
If every Tier 1 family accepts, that would lead to a more than 41% increase in the 32,511 voucher students this school year.
A Tier 1 family, if it attended a public school, would meet federal income guidelines for a free or reduced price school meal. For a family of four, that works out to a maximum household income of $57,720 a year.
Tier 1 accounted for 19% of the applicants this year.
Only some Tier 2 applicants will get vouchers
Only some Tier 2 families— who accounted for 26% of the applicants — will get a voucher when the next round of scholarships are awarded in May.
A Tier 2 family has a maximum annual income of $115,440 for a family of four. They’re eligible for $6,722 per child.
“The number of Tier 2 offers available will not be known until Tier 1 families have accepted or declined their award offers,” the NCSEAA said in a news release sent on Saturday. “There are not sufficient funds available to offer students in Tiers 3 and 4 an award.
“If additional funds become available, NCSEAA will notify families as soon as possible.”
No vouchers for millionaires this year
Families in Tier 3 and Tier 4 accounted for 55% of the applicants this year.
A Tier 3 family of four makes a maximum annual income of $259,740. They’d have been eligible for $4,480 per child.
A Tier 4 family, which could include millionaires, could get $3,360 per child.
Families in Tier 3 and Tier 4 could get vouchers in future years as state funding expands. Lawmakers plan to spend $4.7 billion on vouchers over the next decade.
Last week, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper used a Union County church whose pastor said women invite rape through their clothing choices as an example of what happens when private schools receive public funding with little accountability, the Charlotte Observer reported.
Cooper reiterated his call for a moratorium on expansion of the Opportunity Scholarship program until he said public schools get enough funding
“Our public schools are at risk because the legislature is trying to dismantle them,” Cooper said in a video released last week. “They plan to spend $4 billion of your taxpayer money on private school tuition with no income limit.
“That means even millionaires can pick up a government check for their kids who are already in private school.”