Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The first modern school choice publicly funded voucher program was created in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1990 to solve the success gaps and perceived failures of public education. It is now over 30 years old.

The program originally started with 337 students in 7 schools. By 2021, 28,000 Milwaukee children were participating in the voucher program at 115 private schools.

In 1998, the program was extended to allow religious private schools to participate. Thousands of parents want their kids to attend private and, in most cases, religious schools.

The Milwaukee Voucher program has not solved the success gaps in education. The reading and math scores of students using vouchers is not much different than those attending Milwaukee public Schools.

Over the years, voucher programs have spread throughout Wisconsin and into many states including Norh Carolina and Beaufort County. Vouchers have an effect on Beaufort County Public Schools and students throughout the county.

The N.C. Opportunity Scholarship Grant Program was approved in 2013 and implemented in the 2014-2015 school year. It had initial funding of $14 million which has grown each year. Initially, it applied to low-income public-school students to attend a participating private school. As of 2024, there are no income eligibility requirements. It’s open to all families.

The program expands school choice in North Carolina and Beaufort County. In the 2022-23 school year, there were 25,547 students using Opportunity Scholarships at 544 private schools. The total value of these scholarships was $133,872,245. Expenditures of $463 million were recently approved by the State House for the current school year.

Reasons parents send their children to private schools include personal safety, improved educational environment, and religious based private schools. In some areas, race is a factor.

Private religious schools select their students based on religion and other factors. They’re not open to all students. Most schools participating in the Opportunity Scholarship program are religious schools. Private religious schools do not have a diverse student population that reflects the population of the community.

It’s hard to compare public schools’ academic achievement to private schools. Private schools use national standardized achievement tests and public schools use North Carolina Department of Public Instruction tests to measure academic achievement. There are several providers of national standardized achievement tests.

Private schools determine their own curriculum. The NC Standard Course of Study defines the appropriate content standards for each grade or proficiency level and each high school course to provide a uniform set of learning standards for every public school. DPI provides a database of NC Adopted Instructional material by provider on their website.

Due to declining county population and fewer kids being born, public school enrollment is a major concern. As the state expands funding for the Opportunity Scholarship program, many students will be lost to the private school system. This reduces funding to the schools and puts additional stress on Beaufort County Schools.

Vouchers are particularly hard on rural counties with a few schools spread over a large area with small student enrollment. The state doesn’t provide extra funding for half-full classrooms.

Public schools have many needs including funding and additional certified teachers. Increased teacher pay, and incentives for students to become teachers needs to be addressed by the state.

Al Klemm is a Washington resident and a former Beaufort County Commissioner.