Public schools have been the educational bedrock in this country since Massachusetts established the first compulsory public school law in 1852. More than 1 billion students have filled classrooms since then. What’s more, a short list of luminaries learned their “readin’, writin’ and ‘rithmatic” behind desks with crudely carved names and the smell of eraser dust. Oprah Winfrey, Steve Jobs, Jennifer Aniston, Warren Buffett, Jeff Bezos, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Barak (and Michelle) Obama all count themselves among public school graduates.
Now that very system is on the rocks.
It’s called privatization — an innocuous term at first glance, but it’s anything but. Policymakers have shifted your tax dollars for public education funds and students into private schools.
The profit motive can and often does shortcut overall educational goals.
Our public schools are in trouble…big trouble. Funding is the culprit. The North Carolina legislature is diverting educational tax dollars into voucher programs. During the three-year period between 2014-2017, Rowan County public school budgets have been hammered to the tune of more than $17 million. That’s according to research published by Public Schools First NC, a non-partisan organization which supports North Carolina K-12 students and their families. The study also listed 13 Rowan County schools as having received voucher dollars in the same three-year period. Family income below $111,000 qualified for vouchers until 2024. That ceiling was lifted in 2025.
Gary Weart is a retired North Carolina public school teacher, coach and administrator with more than 50 years experience. He has first-hand knowledge of the damage vouchers have had in our public schools. He says: “Every child deserves an excellent education, whether in a public, private or charter school. My concern is that North Carolina must not weaken the public schools that educate most of our children. We should expand opportunity while ensuring every public school has the resources, teachers and programs students need to succeed. Vouchers (Opportunity Scholarships) should complement public education — not undermine it.
Sadly, the public schools are making drastic cuts in their budgets, and they are unable to provide for their students.”
Privitazation is syphoning vital resources from public schools already on life support. Parents and families get vouchers for private and faith-based schools. Tax dollars that would otherwise be invested in local public school systems are instead being spent on private or for-profit schools.
The almighty dollar is winning the battle…so far.
The systematic underfunding and understaffing of schools are other targeted strategies used to erode public education’s success. Lawmakers have enacted legislation that undermines and disrespects the teaching profession, not to mention placing limits on local control of schools.
More than 25 years of poor pay and working conditions have decimated our teacher pipeline. Teacher recruiting and retention is very difficult. Many are seeking more lucrative careers despite their passion for educating.
Parents supporting privatization claim it is their right and responsibility to educate their children as they see fit — that’s a valid argument, but short-sighted. To some, critical race theory and gay rights are the primary objections to public school curricula. Still others are Holocaust deniers. A conservative and wealthy personal friend who could easily afford any private school chose to send his children to public schools because he believed his kids need to see the world as it is, not as he would like it.
Public Schools First NC research shows that privatization does not improve student outcomes or the overall quality of educational services nor save money. What’s more, since its inception in 2011, the voucher program has devastated North Carolina’s once nationally recognized reputation for educational excellence.
The situation has opened a Pandora’s box, where parents attack school boards and teachers alike. Public school board meetings frequently devolve into shouting matches. The net result: weakening the public’s confidence and support for our public schools.
Teachers bristle at the notion of compromise simply because it has gotten nowhere. Weart says: “It must become an honest “dialogue” between the legislators to clearly illuminate the inequity of the “opportunity scholarships,” which may foster a few real conversations. My hope is that the people of NC will see that the current program must be exposed, reviewed and amended. My role as a career public school teacher over 52 years has always been to educate my students and others by clearly discussing all sides of an issue. This Nation was indeed founded on “compromise” (VA and NJ plan), which obviously required much discussion, to reach consensus.”
John Jeppesen lives in Rowan County.
