March 1, 2025

[1]www.publicschoolsfirstnc.org
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With NO Voucher Income Limits, the Rich Get Richer

The 2024-25 school year is the first time North Carolina’s taxpayer-funded
private school voucher program (i.e., Opportunity Scholarship voucher
program) has no income limits. Even the wealthiest families—with incomes
greater than $260,000/year—can now receive a $3,360 voucher (per child) to
help offset tuition at a private school. Families with lower incomes can
receive up to $7,460 per child.

As a result, 2024 applications hit a record high, with 55% coming from
families too wealthy to have qualified in previous years.

And private schools with few—if any—students who previously qualified for
vouchers lost no time in taking advantage of the opportunity.

The biggest taxpayer-funded windfall this year goes to [7]Metrolina
Christian Academy Indian Trail in Union County. The school is receiving
$3.7 million more this year than it did last year when income limits were
in place. In 2024-25, taxpayers are funding $4.6 million in tuition
payments at Metrolina Christian Academy.

The top 5 beneficiaries of the new rules can all boast a one-year gain of
at least $2.6 million more in taxpayer-funded tuition in 2024-25. The
2024-25 high school tuition for these schools ranges from $11,221
(Metrolina Christian) to $21,720 (Covenant Day):
* Metrolina Christian Academy Indian Trail, Union
* North Raleigh Christian Academy, Wake
* Covenant Day School Matthews, Mecklenburg
* Gaston Christian School, Gaston
* Carmel Christian School Matthews, Mecklenburg

Statewide trends show that the voucher increases are highly concentrated in
urban and suburban areas, further straining resources for rural areas that
already struggle to fund their public schools. Tax dollars that could have
been allocated to teacher raises or other programs that benefit public
education and our communities are instead going to unaccountable private
schools.

Twenty-two of the state’s 100 counties did not see a change due to the
income cap removal in this first year partly due to not having private
schools in the county. However, the voucher expansion has accelerated the
trend of rural counties subsidizing private schools in primarily wealthy,
urban counties. See an interactive map of voucher funding changes [8]here.

Private schools in affluent Wake County gained the most. In 2023-24,
taxpayers funded $13.9 million in private school tuition in Wake. This
year, taxpayers have already spent $49.4 million, a one-year increase of
$35.5 million.

There is a strong likelihood that we will see even more families with
children already in private schools requesting a school voucher again next
year which means that the tab for taxpayers to cover private school tuition
will also increase. This is creating a financial strain on the state's
budget at a time when our public schools are woefully underfunded.

For example, [9]Grace Christian School in Raleigh received $145,731 in
2023-24, but with the income caps removed, this year the school has
received $2,555,995 state dollars. This represents a $2.4 million one-year
windfall. Grace Christian’s high school tuition in 2024-25 is $13,370. The
school’s strict admissions requirements include providing transcripts (with
a minimum GPA), test scores, a student/family admissions interview, and
letters of recommendation.

[10]Cardinal Gibbons, a Catholic school in Raleigh that in 2024-25 charges
$13,550/year for Catholic parish affiliated students and $18,235/year for
non-Catholic affiliated students also received a taxpayer-funded windfall.
The school went from $240,204 in voucher payments last year to $2,037,423
this year, a $1.8 million one-year increase.

The windfall for private schools in Wake County bumped it to the highest
overall recipient of taxpayer-funded vouchers, knocking Cumberland County
to second. Since the OS voucher program launched in 2014, Wake County
private schools have received $100.1 million in private school tuition
payments.
* Wake County: $100,132,841
* Cumberland: $97,393,602
* Mecklenburg County: $76,369,404
* Guilford: $66,930,575
* Forsyth: $43,336,470

Together, private schools in these five counties have received $384,162,892
in taxpayer-funded tuition payments since the program launched. See an
interactive map of total dollars sent to private schools by county
[11]here.

The top recipient of taxpayer-funded vouchers in 2024-25 is [12]Grace
Christian School in Lee County. It is getting $5.1 million in
taxpayer-funded tuition payments this year alone. That’s a $2.0 million
increase from last year. Their 2024-25 high school tuition is $17,900.
Since the voucher program started, the school has received $13.2 million
from North Carolina's taxpayers.

Public Schools First NC has compiled data from [13]NCSEAA on OS voucher
schools by school and county to share. You can find it [14]here. Look up
your county and the schools within your county and share the information!

Legislative and SBE Updates

The NCGA convenes on Monday, March 3. Committee meetings begin at 4:00 p.m.
with the Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House.

The [15]House and [16]Senate Education Appropriations committees meet
Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. ([17]livestream)

Check the [18]legislative calendar for meeting updates throughout the week.

Read our [19]Week in Review for a summary of legislative actions and the
status of bills.

This week, a few notable bills were introduced:

[20]House Bill 192 "Raise Teacher Pay & Dollar Allot. Study" would increase
beginning teacher pay to $50,000. Salaries across the scale would increase
[21]up to $12,000 per year, making North Carolina salaries much more
competitive with surrounding states. The bill also returns salary
supplements for master's degrees, but fails to end the salary freeze for
teachers in years 15-24.

[22]House Bill 139 "Restore State Emp/Teacher Retiree Med Benefits"
restores retiree medical benefits to state employees and teachers who lost
the benefits as a result of previous legislation cutting these benefits
starting in January 2021.

To date, at least 22 separate school calendar flexibility bills have been
filed.

The [23]State Board of Education will hold its monthly meeting on March 5
and 6 ([24]livestream)

Want to Fix the Teacher Shortage? Invest in Teachers - Not Corporations—

By Dr. Amelia H. Wheeler, Assistant Professor of Curriculum & Instruction

Imagine trying to run a school without teachers. You’d have classrooms,
books, and lesson plans—but no one to bring them to life. Teachers are the
heartbeat of our schools. But right now, that heartbeat is growing weaker
as more and more educators leave the profession.

Some say the teacher shortage is just a supply-and-demand issue—that
everything will be fine if we recruit more teachers. But classrooms aren’t
empty because there are not enough teachers. They are empty because
teachers’ low wages and increasingly stressful working conditions have made
staying in the classroom nearly impossible (Gracia & Weiss, 2019).

This isn’t just a crisis of numbers. It’s a crisis of care—a system that
demands more from teachers while giving them less and less support. While
this crisis hurts students, communities, and educators, one group benefits:
corporations that profit off failing schools.

Who’s Making Money Off the Teacher Shortage?

Instead of fixing the root issues, public funds are funneled into staffing
firms and federal visa programs, supplying temporary, low-wage workers
while sidestepping real solutions.

[25]READ MORE

USDE DEI Tip Line

In an unsettling development, the U.S. Department of Education has [26]set
up a tip line for people to report potential crimes against its new
anti-DEI policies:

“The U.S. Department of Education is committed to ensuring all students
have access to meaningful learning free of divisive ideologies and
indoctrination. This submission form is an outlet for students, parents,
teachers, and the broader community to report illegal discriminatory
practices at institutions of learning. The Department of Education will
utilize community submissions to identify potential areas for
investigation.”

Mark Robinson (former N.C. Lt. Governor) tried the same tactic with little
success. Other similar “tip lines” such as the recent Office of Personnel
Management's anti DEI effort have encountered massive pushback from
[27]spamming with fictional and farcical responses. Perhaps the USDE effort
will experience a similar fate.

In Case You Missed It

[28]Amid growing uncertainty at the federal level, NCDPI rolls out its
budget priorities to lawmakers

[29]Ban or limit cellphones in NC schools? Lawmakers advance dueling bills

[30]3 reasons why most North Carolina school districts are losing students

[31]Teens with disabilities were getting help with life after high school.
Then DOGE started cutting

[32]Everyone's excited about DOGE: NC Republicans look to bring Musk-style
review to state government

School Social Work Week

March 2-8 is [33]National School Social Work Week 2025

School Social Work Week 2025 celebrates the collective power and passion of
school social workers who unite communities to ignite positive change in
the lives of students, families, and schools. This year's theme, "Unite to
Ignite: Celebrating our Impact," highlights the vital role school social
workers play in fostering connections, advocating for equity, and driving
social and emotional growth. It’s a time to honor the difference made by
empowering others and working together to overcome challenges, ensuring all
students thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.

Remember to thank your School Social Workers this week!

Join Us for an Evening with Derek Black!

An Evening with Derek Black: Conversation, Book Signing, & Fundraiser

Please join Public Schools First NC on March 14 for an evening with
acclaimed author and constitutional law scholar [34]Derek Black,
celebrating the release of his latest book,

[35]Dangerous Learning: The South’s Long War on Black Literacy

His book describes the violent lengths to which Southern leaders went to
repress Black literacy, and the extraordinary courage it took black people
to resist. He connects the criminalization of Black literacy and freedom in
the nineteenth century to today’s attacks on racial equity, racial history,
and public education itself.

Your $100 ticket supports Public Schools First NC’s critical work and
includes a signed copy of his latest book.

During these unprecedented times, Public Schools First NC will continue to
advocate for NC’s public schools and keep community members informed on the
latest news and legislation impacting our students and teachers. Please
join us!

[36]REGISTER HERE

Webinar with Mo Green!

Did you miss our webinar discussion with Superintendent Mo Green?

Mo shared his personal background and talked through his vision for public
schools in North Carolina. He addressed many participant questions and
shared his deep knowledge about what our state can do to make our public
schools the BEST in the nation.

"Excellence is the ONLY option!"

You can watch the webinar [37]here.

Flyleaf Books Book Event - March 13

March 13. You won't want to miss meeting Derek Black and hearing him talk
about his newest book, Dangerous Learning: The South's Long War on Black
Literacy.

Join Public Schools First at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill (752 MLK Jr.
Blvd.) for a book signing and talk.

Book signing begins at 5:30 and the talk begins at 6:00

Mark Your Calendar!

Multiple Dates, 7:00-8:30 pm: Resilience and ACES. Learn about Adverse
Childhood Experiences (ACES) and resilience. Join us for this
award-winning, 60-minute film, Resilience: The Biology of Stress & The
Science of Hope. This documentary examines how abuse, neglect, and other
adverse childhood experiences affect children’s development & health
outcomes in adulthood. This powerful movie is a conversation starter and a
perspective changer.

[38]REGISTER HERE

All screenings are on Thursday and include time for discussion. Invite a
friend and contact us about setting up a private screening for your school
staff, PTA, civic group, church, or synagogue.
* March 27
* April 24

Words to Remember

"The preservation of the means of knowledge among the lowest ranks, is of
more importance to the public than all the property of all the rich men in
the country. It is even of more consequence to the rich themselves, and to
their posterity."

— John Adams, A Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law, 1765

Help us support public schools!

Public Schools First NC is a statewide nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) nonprofit
focused solely

on pre-K to 12 public education issues. We collaborate with parents,
teachers, business and civic leaders, and communities across North Carolina
to advocate for one unified system of public education that prepares each
child for productive citizenship.

[39]DONATE HERE

[40]www.publicschoolsfirstnc.org

Questions? Contact us today at [email protected]

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