Election Day 2022 Observations: School Choice Wins for All

By Mike Long

As your source for school choice in North Carolina, our PEFNC team works literally around the clock to reach families across our state. Our mission is to defend and expand school choice for all of them. 

We have been champions for programs like North Carolina’s Opportunity Scholarship, which since its inception in 2013, has helped thousands of low-income families obtain equal access to the best education for their children.

With good policy, like the Opportunity Scholarship Program or expansion of public charter schools, comes a direct tie to politics, as tiresome as it may be for some. That said, the results of the recent North Carolina elections show, once again, that school choice is a winning issue at the kitchen table and the voting booth.

Republican candidates like Senator Michael Lee and Representative John Bradford openly discussed and supported school choice throughout their campaigns. They, along with many of their colleagues, have helped craft excellent school choice policies in our state. 

Here is what I know.  Embracing school choice and expressing their support for it in their campaigns played an influential role in helping them win their respective races. 

Also, regarding the North Carolina Supreme Court, Democrat incumbent Justice Sam Ervin, who in 2015 ruled the Opportunity Scholarship unconstitutional, lost his seat on the Court. This loss denies him the opportunity to rule against it again in a current lawsuit brought by the teacher’s union.  Scholarship families across our state were well-aware of his record and voted accordingly.

So, what is next for school choice in North Carolina? As a nonpartisan organization, we encourage more political leaders from all sides to support school choice. Our friends in the Republican party have expanded school choice in North Carolina, and Tuesday’s results should be another reason why our friends in the Democrat party should add to those efforts. Now is the time to unite both sides of the aisle in our General Assembly  by lifting up school choice and all educational options for every family in our state.

I believe, like the vast majority of North Carolinians, that school choice is in demand more than ever and should therefore be available to all, independent of one’s income, zip code, or political party.

A more united North Carolina can provide all students across our state with the best education that fits their needs.  That is something we all can rally behind!

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