North Carolina lawmakers are opening private-school vouchers to families of all income levels, beginning this fall. But the surge in demand means about 40,000 applicants could be denied Opportunity Scholarships because they make too much money.
Critics of the voucher program like to say that even millionaires can now get public money to help pay their kids’ private school tuition. And that’s true in theory. But the legislation gives first priority to current scholarship recipients and lower-income families.
The vouchers range from about $3,400 to $7,500 a year, depending on income. When applications for the coming year closed March first, there were 72,000 students in line for the payments. A year ago there were fewer than 12,000. That means for the first time, the state is going to have to say no to some families.
State officials say families who are eligible for school lunch subsidies — a bit under $60,000 a year for a family of four — will almost certainly get scholarships. And those earning up to twice that might get in.
But Brian Jodice of Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina says almost 40,000 families who are in the top two income tiers won’t have much chance.
"Quite frankly the chances of us getting into Tier 3 look to me to be pretty slim at this point," he said, "So, there will definitely be some sort of lottery."
The state plans to start notifying families about their applications next month. And Jodice’s advocacy group is gearing up to lobby legislators to provide even more money for the program during this year’s short session.