Does the Opportunity Scholarship siphon money from public schools?
Public schools are given the same amount per pupil, for each student in attendance. In North Carolina, public education spending totals $9,478.37 per pupil per year in 2018, with about 65% coming from the state, 11% from the federal government, and 24% locally. Comparatively, the Opportunity Scholarship is up to $4,200 per student, coming from the state's general fund.
When the General Assembly was working on Education Finance Reform, Georgetown University's Dr. Marguerite Roza analyzed NC's public education system and presented several critical points to the legislative committee:
- There is no correlation between more spending and improved academic performance metrics, so giving schools allocations for students not in attendance is not only an undue burden on the tax-payer, it doesn't benefit students either, as demonstrated by the graph below.
In addition, the argument--that any and all education spending should be controlled by traditional public schools--was addressed by the North Carolina Supreme Court in 2015. They ruled that the North Carolina legislature can use its general revenue fund to create educational programs outside the public-school system (Hart v. State of North Carolina et al).
From the tax-payer's perspective, the up to $4,200 per student per year allocation for Opportunity Scholarship students that would otherwise be state expenditures of $6,153 per student per year if they were in the public school system, represents a savings of $1,953 per Opportunity Scholarship student.
Most importantly, the parent's perspective; they chose that school, and they don't have to justify their reasons to the government.
UNUSED TEXT:
The Opportunity Scholarship DOES NOT siphon money from public schools. Public schools are given the same per pupil expenditure for each student in attendance.
Education spending is measured per-pupil. So how much money does the Opportunity Scholarship cost assigned district schools per pupil? In North Carolina, public education spending totals $9,478.37 per pupil per year in 2018, with about 65% coming from the state, 11% from the federal government, and 24% locally. Comparatively, the Opportunity Scholarship is up to $4,200 per student, coming from the state's general fund. So how much of this per pupil funding is "siphoned" from each pupil?
Assigned district schools do not have a monopoly on public education. Fewer parents choosing to enroll their children at low-performing schools does not constitute "siphoning." The argument--that any and all education spending should be controlled by traditional public schools--was addressed by the North Carolina Supreme Court in 2015. They ruled that the North Carolina legislature can use its general revenue fund to create educational programs outside the public-school system (Hart v. State of North Carolina et al).
From the tax-payer's perspective, the up to $4,200 per student per year allocation for Opportunity Scholarship students that would otherwise be state expenditures of $6,153 per student per year if they were in the public school system, represents a savings of $1,953 per Opportunity Scholarship student.