Middle class and wealthy NC families are those waiting for private school voucher funding

More than 70% of the North Carolina families on the waiting list for a taxpayer-funded private school voucher wouldn’t have been eligible before lawmakers removed the program’s income eligibility limits.

State Republican legislative leaders have said it’s their intention to fund all 55,000 families who are on the waiting list for receiving a private school voucher for this fall. According to state figures, more than 39,000 of those families waiting for a voucher made too much money to qualify under the previous rules.

Democratic lawmakers and voucher critics have focused on the families at the higher end of the income scale — such as millionaires — who’d get a voucher if the wait list is cleared.

“We believe that money would be much better spent on many, many programs that are underfunded and support large number of students who are lower income,” Heather Koons, a spokesperson for Public Schools First NC, said in an interview.

But Republican lawmakers have focused on how additional funding would help middle-class families, such as a family of four making $116,000 a year.

“This bill is about giving the middle class meaningful access to school choice,” Sen. Amy Galey, an Alamance County Republican, said during the floor debate this month. “In my opinion, opponents to this bill are not truly concerned about the money. I think they’re terrified that the middle class will access an alternative to government-sponsored education.”

Only less wealthy families funded previously

Until this year, only families making up to 200% of the income required for a federally subsidized school meal could get an Opportunity Scholarship. That would equal an annual income of up to $115,440 for a family of four.

Now all families can apply, with their income being solely used to determine the size of the scholarship amount.

The 71,956 applicants were grouped into four income tiers. Scholarship amounts are $7,468 for Tier 1, $6,722 for Tier 2, $4,480 for Tier 3 and $3,360 for Tier 4.

Only Tier 1 and Tier 2 would have been eligible under the old income rules.

The N.C. State Education Assistance Authority says it only has enough money to fund all the Tier 1 applicants and 2,294 of the 18,871 Tier 2 applicants. The authority says there’s also no money to fund Tier 3 and Tier 4.

A Tier 3 applicant earns 200% to 450% of the income required for a subsidized school lunch, or between $115,440 and $259,740 a year for a family of four. They make up 47% of the families on the waiting list.

Tier 4 applicants have no income limits and make up 23% of the families on the wait list.

A bill passed by the Senate would provide an additional $463.5 million in private school voucher funding over the next two years. The House hasn’t acted on the bill and may wait until the state budget to provide the funding.

‘Windfalls’ for the wealthiest families?

Democrats have used terms such as “welfare for the wealthy” to describe the voucher expansion.

Sen. Natasha Marcus, a Mecklenburg County Democrat, has said the new voucher money should go instead to things such as helping lower-income families pay for childcare costs and additional raises for public school teachers.

“Those are some of the priorities that are falling second and maybe we’ll never get to in favor of this bill — this welfare for the wealthiest families to help them pay the tuition bill that they’re already able to afford to pay to send their children to private school.” Marcus said during committee debate on the bill. “I think it’s a huge mistake.”

Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper has pointed to the concerns raised by Michael Petrilli, president of the Thomas Fordham Institute, a conservative think tank which supports expanding school choice.

In a recent article, Petrilli asked “must the expansion of school choice result in windfalls for America’s wealthiest families, particularly those that already send their children to fancy private schools?”

“I am a fan of school choice, but I am not a fan of school choice going to the wealthy,” Petrilli told The News & Observer.

An ‘opportunity’ for middle-class families

Republican lawmakers have focused on how the voucher bill would allow more families making $116,000 a year to pay for private schools. They say that would be a middle-class family such as a police officer married to a nurse or emergency medical technician who are both making more than $50,000 a year.

“We don’t have Charlotte Country Days, we don’t have Ravenscrofts,” Sen. Benton Sawrey, a Johnston County Republican, said during the floor debate. “But we do have some schools in Johnston County that offer an opportunity and a choice for families.

“And that opportunity and choice used to only be the domain of the rich that could afford to send their children across county lines to Wake County, where most of these millionaires are. So I take issue with the concept that is welfare for the wealthy.”

Republicans also say it’s fine if a millionaire gets an Opportunity Scholarship.

Galey, the Alamance County Republican, said a millionaire is paying more than $40,000 a year in state income taxes. She said the $3,360 they’d get from a voucher would leave more than 90% of their taxes behind to support public education and other needs.

“If we’re going to talk about high income tax earners, they are the taxpayers,” Galey said. “This is not ‘welfare’ if it’s actually their own money. They’re the ones who pay the taxes.”