NC Governor Declares State of Emergency – Against School Choice!
In a move that has sparked controversy and debate, Governor Roy Cooper of North Carolina declared a state of emergency on Monday, citing the upcoming school choice legislation as a threat to public education. The bill, supported by Republican state lawmakers, aims to promote education reform through the implementation of school choice measures.
The North Carolina Senate’s committee on education has given a favorable report to Senate Bill 406, known as “Choose Your School, Choose Your Future.” This bill aims to expand the Opportunity Scholarship program to all students in the state, regardless of their family’s income. If passed, the bill would eliminate income eligibility requirements and guarantee up to a 45% scholarship for every student in North Carolina. Furthermore, it removes the previous requirement that students must have attended a public school before qualifying for the program.
Proponents of the bill argue that it will provide greater access to school choice for all families in the state. Senator Michael Lee expressed his enthusiasm, stating, “Today’s a great day for kids – and that’s what this bill is about.” He emphasized that the Opportunity Scholarship would have no caps, making every North Carolina resident eligible for the program.
The current Opportunity Scholarship program assists families below a certain income level in covering tuition and fees at qualifying nonpublic schools. In the 2022-23 school year, 25,524 students benefited from the scholarship. With the potential passage of SB406, income eligibility requirements would be eliminated, ensuring broader access to educational choices for all students in North Carolina.
In a video announcement released by his office, Governor Cooper emphasized the significance of public education and likened the state of public education to other emergencies that require immediate attention. He stated, “It’s time to declare a State of Emergency for public education in North Carolina. There’s no Executive Order like with a hurricane or the pandemic, but it’s no less important.”
The governor expressed concern that the Republican legislature is seeking to undermine public education and urged citizens to take action against the proposed legislation. Cooper asserted, “It’s clear that the Republican legislature is aiming to choke the life out of public education. I’m declaring this state of emergency because you need to know what’s happening. If you care about public schools in North Carolina, it’s time to take immediate action and tell them to stop the damage that will set back our schools for a generation.”
However, Governor Cooper’s declaration faced immediate backlash from critics who viewed it as an overreach of government power. Many took to Twitter to voice their opposition, criticizing the governor for using emergency measures to interfere with legislative processes. The debate surrounding the state of emergency declaration highlighted the deep divide between proponents of school choice and defenders of traditional public education.
The announcement by Governor Cooper comes in the wake of State Representative Tricia Cotham’s decision to defect from the Democratic Party and join the GOP, citing her support for school choice as a key factor. Cotham stated, “On issues like school choice, like charters, we have to evolve. One-size-fits-all in education is wrong for children… [Democrats] didn’t really want to talk about children. They had talking points from adults and adult organizations.”
Critics have also pointed out what they perceive as hypocrisy on the part of Governor Cooper, as he opposes private school vouchers while sending his own daughter to a private school. These contradictions have fueled further skepticism and criticism of the governor’s stance on education reform.
The debate over school choice and its impact on public education is a contentious issue, not only in North Carolina but across the United States. Supporters argue that school choice empowers parents to make educational decisions that best suit their children’s needs, while opponents claim that it diverts resources from public schools and exacerbates educational inequalities.
As the state of emergency declaration in North Carolina continues to stir controversy, the fate of the proposed school choice bill hangs in the balance. The battle between advocates for traditional public education and proponents of school choice is likely to persist, as both sides strive to shape the future of education in the state.
Very nice article, well written story again. Thinking AI, I ran a plagiarism scan and while I could find a close, not exact sentence or two, Daniel’s article was much more comprehensive and expansive than anything out there to date.
Thanks, good info,
I don’t know much about the charter system but feel if we leave public school’s behind with less funding and only students who can’t escape, we will create an unequal educational class system in America. Worse than public schools at present.
Also, charters go out of business at a startling rate given the expanding volumes of students for unknown reasons. What’s up with that? Plus, the charter school “rating” system is state-by-state and inconsistent. Lastly, Charter Schools detract from diversity; sort of birds of a feather flock together.
But these are just from a quick scan and not validated. Might just be the teacher’s union squawking. One thing is sure; if Daniel is right and NC will pony up 45% of charter school tuition, then charter schools will raise the tuition rate. Why not; you get 45% of whatever you charge from the state. That’s not a great financial funding plan that the gop came up with.
I enjoyed this one Daniel, quality has come to pbp.
I think that ever since the public school system, has been dictated to by the Federal Government and the States options taken away, it has disenfranchised the students, ability to receive a good education. The teachers unions have made sure of that. They have become more political in their methods of teaching. Teaching the children their beliefs, not that of the community or parents. This has become a big issue, the children are receiving a less than good education. The ratings of the children education today is substandard at best. Most children by the time they graduate from high school can not even add up a total, for a transaction at any given store. We were taught to keep a running total when we went to school, allowing us to follow budgets and never exceed our balance sheet. Can your child do this with today’s education system? If they don’t have a calculator to do it the answer is no.
Gene, I am not picking on you personally, but yours is a common misconception that is repeated often enough that people believe it. Don’t believe me, look it up. You say: “I think that ever since the public school system, has been dictated to by the Federal Government……” stop right there… The Federal Government does indeed provide funding to the schools and often that funding has strings attached as in you must do certain things to get it. The funding is less than 10%, last time I looked it was 7%. I am pretty sure if you district didn’t like the strings, they could live without it. “Dictated,” not quite except for general things like enforcing the Bill of Rights, Equal access to education, Safeguarding students’ constitutional rights and
Safeguarding teachers’ constitutional rights.
States are another question with 50 different answers so I guess you live in the authoritarian stupid state. States are responsible operation of schools. They often, but not always and to varying degrees establish, select, curriculum, methods, and even materials in the schools. Each state has different standards and policies determining the quality offered. Sounds like yours sucks —- which State is it so PBP parents can avoid moving there.
Teacher Unions are another issue altogether and they are a force. And they tilt liberal. But they don’t control the State, they are less numerous than parents, and even less so than citizens. Even in liberal NJ, we have issues with the Union, but not on the educational program, more on the price and lack of flexibility. Since we are number 1 or 2, my contention is always — tread softly, you don’t want to shit where you eat and ruin the whole meal. As far as teachers grooming liberalism — that’s an individual district issue that parents can address. Not sure the opposite is better. Perhaps we need a way to meet in the middle. But if it was as dire as you portray, I would thing the entire US would be liberal.
To your other point: math. US math scores began rising in 1999 under Bill Clinton which means nothing except to piss folks off. Fed has not much to do with it, 7% funding on average. They peaked between 2008 -2012, fell slightly to 2020 when they cratered. Wanna guess why? It’s a p word. You can say pandemic, I say parents. Hell, they had to know that a radical shift to home learning had risks; get involved for Christ’s sake. The Greatest Generation would have buckled down and got the job done in the covid war rather than bitching about masks, vaccines, and social distancing. IMO.
Reading has a similar profile.
https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=38
But really, look it up yourself and if you have kids, get involved. More involved. Schools are not caretakers, parents are.
Gene, before you solidify your opinion as fact, please read my posts to Frank and Joe on this topic.
Frank, when I was a mathematics teacher in the public school system, I kept better track of this stuff. A few points:
If I remember correctly, the board of each charter school must have public school system representation because public funds already go to these schools. So I think what this bill does is maybe increase the percentage of funding, but also I sense that one of two groups, either rich kids or poor kids will be favored while the other will be under represented. Thus, as you say, the collecting of students who can’t escape, we will create an unequal educational class system in NC. Time will tell.
Knowing the GOP in this state, rich kids will now qualify for financial relief which could impact not so rich middle class kids that previously could not afford tuition because they were just above the low income limit, and, subsequently more middle class wannabee rich kids can go to these schools while poor but brilliant kids may get shoved out. That is my best guess as to why Mr. Cooper would speak out against the bill.
The other reason is that the state must pony up and will now have to pony up more for charter schools when it already does not have enough to properly fund the public schools. We have an “education lottery” that was sold to us in a dishonest way. While it was sold as more funding for public schools, what they actually did was take tax money directed towards education (buildings and equipment) and replaced it with lottery money while redirecting the tax money. End result was that we have this big money making lottery machine called the “Education “Lottery” that is a slight of hand and does not focus more funds from the lottery towards education. It just replaces budget money that was from taxes.
What Cooper should have done was require the education lottery to fund a bigger chunk of education and many scholarships rather than just replace education earmarked tax dollars.
If I remember correctly, these charter schools are like small education companies. They fail just like new start up small companies. I think the stat is somewhere around 50 to 80% fail within the first five years.
Your point of higher tuition since the state is funding more will probably become a reality. Most Charter School teachers do not get paid as much as public school teachers. It will be interesting what happens to that 45%? Will some of it translate into teacher raises or investor fortunes.
Cooper believes like many teacher associations believe (teacher unions are illegal in NC) , that any money given to other education efforts other than public school system will cause the demise of the public school system. They do not like charter schools at the feed trough to begin with. But he does not seem to mind much of that money going to bloated administrative budgets, administrative buildings, huge staffs, and lots of staff education events, where the money does not flow into the classroom. When I taught for ten years, I had to buy all of my own school supplies which I used with my students. I was allowed to deduct $400 of it, the rest of it I ate. I spent on average $1200 a year on supplies. If Cooper cared as much about public education as he tries to get people to believe, he would legislate more of the Education Lottery actually going to education. And he might have sent his child to the public school system that he says he believes in for my child but not for his!
I just learned Tina Turner died. :>(( Best legs the world has ever seen!!!
I sent my son to a private Christian school. Part of our monthly tuition fee was money put into a scholarship fund for economically disadvantaged students. Many other charter schools do the same thing. Not sure how all of this plays out with current philanthropic efforts in these schools.
Tom, it’s different in every State.
On average, Charter Schools don’t blow public schools away on basic testing scores. And they have the pro’s n con’s as I noted above. But I look to others to dive deeper, my kids are at the advanced degree level and I am done with it. But it is a prime reason I moved to NJ. My schools are NJ average, not stellar, but I chose to live in bumfuck and that comes with the territory. Matter of fact, I am in a RED country, so I walk softly and carry…..oh, never mind.
Saw my first neighborhood eagle two weeks ago, that was cool. Have bear shots five feet from sunroom door. Little feller, only 300 lbs or so.
I can’t find Bumfuck on the NJ map? Does the road to Bumfuck continue to PA where it takes you through Virginville, Intercourse, and you end up in Blue Balls? I think that is US 78 but I am just going from memory.
I agree, the education systems varies wildly by state, and so does the funding! Yeah my child is long grown up now. Grandkids now! They want to homeschool them because they do not like the woke stuff going on here. They asked me to teach the grandkids their math.
The teaching system in NC said they are going to come up with a new way of ensuring that kids can read and write, there was a way to do that , it worked over 70years ago, called reading, writing, arithmetic , but it went against the goals of the teaching system by creating thinking individuals!
As a former NC K6-12, alternative school, and Comm College Mathematics Teacher, I object to your portrayal of our today’s NC teachers as somehow not wanting to turn out thinking individuals like 70 years ago, and that our education system is somehow inept when compared to 70 years ago. We teachers till want to turn out thinking individuals. But our hands are tied legally in so many ways. Money gets spent on administration buildings, staff, staff events, etc. and does not make it to the classroom. I spent on average $1200 per year for supplies that parents would not buy for their children. I was only allowed to deduct $400 on my taxes. I worked on average 11 hours per day and had to do all of my lesson planning on weekends while others were enjoying recreational activities. My classes on average had 28 students which was at least 4 more students than recommended by the formula. One class had 34 students of which 17 were what we call BED Students (Behaviorally and Emotionally Disturbed). And then I lost the assistant teacher for that class due to budget cuts while the school administration building lost no employees. My school was high free breakfast and lunch, Title I school, with 70% receiving free breakfast and lunch, yet some of those free meals were picked up at the end of the day by parents driving Hummers and other cars that I could not afford on a teacher salary. Our sports PTA meetings were packed every month while our education PTA meetings rarely got more than ten parents each month. We could not get a kid disturbing class kicked out because the checklist to get a kid kicked out is so damn long that it is another semester before he does enough evil deeds – but then the list gets reset every semester. This keeps classrooms disturbed but also keeps the star basketball players on the courts. Same with academic benchings, they reset in the basketball season so it is impossible to get the kid focused on academics when he knows he can survive to the reset. And when Bush was POTUS his program called “No Child Left Behind” we teachers called “No Teacher Left Standing”. It put schools in control of the parents, seems like a good thing, until your kid is the kid misbehaving or not getting his homework done or you are not answering all of the teacher emails. Then only the teacher gets blamed!
Would you like a job like this?
It is the local government, elected county officials that control budgets, and elected school system executives that make our jobs hard. If you want better results from teachers, start making better fucking choices at the ballot box! And come join us, as we will watch you try to play miracle worker!
Everything I just mentioned was out of the teacher’s control.
When an industry proves to be a disaster (public education), action is ESSENTIAL. If the public education gets REAL competition, a healthy private education system, one of 2 things will happen: 1) the public education system will get better as measured by their RESULTS, of 2) they will go out of business. Public education is 100% funded by taxpayers and is a PROVEN FAILURE. Private education is a DEMONSTRATED SUCCESS. A cost of 45% is a bargain! Should tuition to private schools grow to exceed the cost of public education, the 45% could be changed by the legislature!
Agreed. Competition is good for ANY industry, especially given the political football that public education has become.
NJ is at top of the food chain for public education, rating one or two each year, while paying at the number 6 slot or so. So, not sure I personally see “disaster,” and while I agree with Joe that generally competition is good, I think the jury may still be out on this one. And if Charter Schools defund public schools, you will have another type of disaster on your hands altogether. I do have a severe issue with the school funding mechanism in NJ as in property tax, resulting in the highest in the nation, forcing seniors to leave minutes after retirement. But that’s a process, not price issue.
The 45% is not necessarily a bad price, it’s just a stupid process which leads to the same problem of college tuition inflation caused by cheap-money in the way of loans. It ain’t the amount, it’s the FIXED % against a moving price target, probably up. That’s all.
Like I said, I have not great knowledge base here, much less in the NC flavor.
Down here in S. Fla (in Democrat territory), we actually have great competition between public and charter schools. I’ve spoken with educators in the area, they are not upset at all. Their judgement is that for normal kids charter schools are better, but for gifted or special needs kids, public schools are better.
You are correct. Public schools focus on the gifted because that gets them bragging rights and higher ratings for the school, and disabled and special needs kids because that gets funding. All those what you call “normal kids” just get run through the mill in many cases. Read what ten years of my life was like daily in an above response I wrote. Part of what you are seeing is GOP budget cuts that filter their way down to the school system. Like Frank said, his system was supported by high property taxes. I knew a person in Avondale NJ who had a property no bigger than mine in NC but paid twelve times the property tax. Examine the federal education system budget over the past 60 years. IT has gone from 6% to 3% for public schools. And as GOP makes more budget cuts, expect your school system to get worse!
Tom, see my response. Charter schools, being for profit, are not going to focus on niches. If it was for bragging rights, or synonymously marketable, they would be all over it.
One problem with “for profit” is the pecuniary pull of financial gravitational forces that skews the potential outcome Thus, antifa schools in Portland, AK47 schools in Dallas.
But FL will have no trans-america schools, by law :>)
Well I have always said if you can’t be a man, then be a tran. I am all for trannies getting educated, and having special schools just for them. I am for Tran submarines, Tran Bomber and Fighter Plane units, Tran Marines, and Tran Army units, even Tranny special forces. I believe every Tran has the right to die for their country and hope that many are willing. I think it is wrong to keep them out of the military. They should be the first line of defense that we throw at the enemy because they have much more acute situational awareness. I draw the line at institutionalizing gender affirmation care surgeries and whoremoan blockers to kids in school before the age of 18, no public library support, no tranny reading time unless it is in your own home, and religious institutions such as churches should be exemptions to any of these laws promoting tranny stuff. And I will refuse to use their pronouns. But, If you are old enough to vote and be in the military, you should be old enough to get a sex change. I hope that one day we can all get to a place where a person is not judged by the color of their skin or the type of their genitals, or the sadness of their perverted mental demons, but by the content of their character! :>)
Frank read this article. IF you do not stop them like FL did, you get them like CA did, so I guess now we should boycott the MLB. *https://catholicvote.org/catholicvote-vows-ad-campaign-as-dodgers-reinvite-anti-catholic-hate-group/*
Tom, first, if you only have one link, you don’t need the *. Helps when using smart phone to read while driving ::>)
Second, I really think you need to get your focus off people’s crotches and focus above the neck.
If you think these folks are anti-Catholic then the Pope don’t burp. They are a satirical street performing activist group looking to advance diversity and acceptance of all humans. Can’t find any violence, any attacks on the church — they just starting dressing like clownish nuns and frankly, pretty funny.
Personally, I like Simone from Mrs. Davis you probably think she’s anti Catholic too….
You have nothing to fear except fear itself. They aren’t coming for your rosary.
Tom, you tran rant really makes me wonder. Tootsie a no no. Mrs Doubtfire is grooming. Dame Edna evil devil? How about Tony Curtis? And the list goes on.
Personally, I fear Bozo. Clowns are really scarry grooming kids to wear oversized shoes.
I really think you had a bad encounter with a clown and it’s shaping your adult life.
Not to fear, they are not coming to the mountains in NC…. ever..
It’s you get blue balls on the way to intercourse via new holland road and 23. And in NJ, it’s Buttzville, home of Hot Dog Johnny’s, one of the last drive-ins from the 1950’s as Johnny came home from war and built his empire on the banks of the Pequest River —– my river, class a trout stream. You can google it, but if you go, be careful, there is no menu, Patty is quintessential NJ and if you stray and ask for a custom, she will glare mightily. Well, she glares normally. Like NJ coffee, you have to say — two dogs, regular — or if you are uber cool, like me, you say: two route 80 dogs and watch the line go “bwhaaaaaaaat?” I’ve known Patty for decades, she does not glare at me. Used to skip work with the boys and we would end up at HGJ. Best fries in NJ, no freakin starch fakers, peanut oil (like the dogs) and so hot they may cause stomach burns.
Route 46 is the old e-w highway replaced by Route 80 interstate but Johnny’s still thrives. Legend has it that Johnny died with his boots on as he exited the establishment and got blasted by a semi. Probably legend though. You can google it, it’s a landmark.
My only issue is with institutionalizing this tranny crap and sex changes on minors. I am not focused on crotches, just focused on kids being able to be kids and grow up in healthy communities where boys meet girls and have fun.
I will differ with you on diversity skits. IF diversity means denigrating another person’s faith practices or if it means making public jokes of its practitioners, or if it means suggesting people sin more, well then you and I have a very different view of legitimate diversity activities. They could have increased diversity by just handing out a leaflet explaining / regarding their perverted way of dressing men like women and maybe explain child mutilations to achieve diversity and inclusion. I would respect their right to do that. People, many Catholics that pay lots of money for those seats at the ballpark do not deserve to have such sacrilegious antics thrust upon them. They did not need to publicly insult the Catholic faith. That was over the line to me, and MLB sucks for allowing it? Where is the diversity in publicly using what they call comedy as a means of insulting and denigrating women who dedicate their life to God and the service of mankind???!!! My father was raised by nuns at Ambler Catholic Villa for Children. They produced a guy that won the distinguished flyer cross seven times in WWII. What have trannys produced that is nearly so great!!!??? Seriously, are you for that under the thin veil of “spreading diversity”??? I would think at minimum their skits are anti-diversity and bashing of women!!! What diversity do you espouse too, making more frequent sinners??? I will never agree with diversity that distances us from our Creator, the God of Heaven and Earth.
But I see that our hotdog views seem about the same! I will look for Johnny’s next time I am up. :>)
And if boys want to be girls, you feel it’s your right to pass a law to force them to your way of life. Law is force and you want a law. State control of parent’s kids. That seems just as wrong and while there are places for that, is this one? This overarching and universal? If you ban this altogether, there is blood on your hands — no doubt. Evidence exists as to what happen when it’s forbidden. Too bad we can’t do both and let people be who they want to be without forcing them into “Tom’s world,” a really creepy place for non-hetero’s while restricting anyone who is not 100% sure. I would agree I want to alter nothing that should be, but why stop something that would be? Just because some conservative asshole politician thinks it’s wrong, that kid is too young in the politician’s mind, his parents are stupid, a medical professional or team can never help determine? There has to be a win-win here that let’s folks dream what they want to dream and make dreams come true without jack-boot thugs like yourself demanding they act and do what you say is right…… I agree that kids don’t always know, they change their minds, etc, but there’s got to be a better answer than boycott Target, Bud, DIsney, Hamburger Mary and Jack D because Johnny may see it and get evil ideas that Mom and Dad just can’t control.
Re the sisters, nope, seems like your head is all in their crotches…. This group has over 40 years of service across the globe now after starting in….wait for it….IOWA. There are not drag queens, they are nuns in drag. They are serious. You just can’t drop your pitchfork Tom and pick up the habit. You have to be selected, detected, directed, and it takes years before you can be connected to the habit. These are serious activists. And in very small numbers. They are not looking for joiners. It’s very difficult to join.
Again, I suggest you read up in WIKI, it’s kind of fascinating. While the dirty, tawdry sex-stuff was certainly in the 60’s and perhaps later, I am not sure you can find anything you are afraid of in modern history of the group. Mostly LGBT, aids, activism sort of stuff. Have had some go rounds with the church, think the church walked it back, and they are what they are. Pretty cool IMO. The names are racy, but funny to me. When they came to NYC, the crowd said” “Bwhaaat the hell is this” so yeah, it’s an acquired taste and habit (oh yeah, meant that pun, but it was a strectch)
As to your Catholic Vote POS. These folks are a PAC that uses the name Catholic but they are not the Catholic Church, far from it. They are a hard right advocacy group, since 2008, that hides behind the name Catholic. I don’t think the Church loves them either.
Bottom line: IF I am in a elevator, I would be less afraid of the Sister than Bozo. I mean a mime in a habit versus a fat-assed orange-haired, big nosed, bozo from a Toby’s Florida clown school — man, that trump’s the nun. Those clowns just creep the Hell out of me, and these folks remind me of street mimes, much nicer.
Hey, ever notice how DeSantis’ ears look like Mickey’s? Just saying.
Yes Frank, if free speech is queer hours for kids, drag queen story hour for kids, then I think it is a perversion and such speech should be limited since it could damage a healthy mind. Under your logic, pedophilia is free speech since all they are saying is they have an attraction to little kids yet they get jail. Lying to a court is free speech yet they get jail for purjury. Lying to Congress is free speech, yet they get jail time. Santos lied like crazy to get elected and you bashed him for it, but that was just free speech that you were happy to punish. Hate speech is free speech but if someone commits a crime and has used hate speech on their victims, they get extra jail time. Facebook run by uber liberal Zuckerberg censored free speech of conservatives and you said nothing! If my neighbor had signs on his lawn that were against another race, that is free speech but I would have them taken down.
With regard to my child, well lets first realize that the American Psychological Association (APA) defines cross dressing as gender dysphoria and is a mental illness. So I would not let those with such mental illness speak with or read my child stories nor confuse my child’s mind. If my child showed such an interest I would get him psychological help. I would address the mental problem and not allow him to cross dress to appease the mental problem. I would not allow gender transition. I might even have him home-schooled if the school was a problem. I would make sure any videos watched and any songs listened to did not promote gender dysphoria.
The problem Frank is that liberal society in the name of free speech has allowed our children’s minds to be corrupted, and this is bull shit. Back when you and I went to school the FCC would never have allowed such speech on the radio or tv. Back then they would not even show pregnant women on tv or bed scenes on tv. You were not allowed to say the word diarrhea on the Paregoric commercials! Our minds were very well protected. We grew up healthy because we did not have this type of corruption under the banner of free speech. Your children went to school in a much healthier era than today, even you did not have to worry about all of this crap in your kid’s school. And now rather than help new parents provide healthy environments for their children, you march under the banner of free speech while allowing a generation to become more confused and corrupted, and you think you are patriotic -but you are not. And lastly, you have told me because of my views, you said, “You have blood on your hands.” I do not agree nor do I feel that way. These kids all have parents that can do what I suggest. They are responsible for raising their kids correctly. My job is to give them a healthy environment to grow up in. My hand are clean! It is your hands that have blood on them for allowing this corrupted form of free speech that screwed up their minds in the first place!!! So with every tranny kid that dies, I hope you think about the part your thirst for free speech contributed to that death!!!
Joe, I am sure you do and FL seems to have good regulations for charter schools which, if I got this right, are sort of “graded” by the public school hierarchy???? Also, is it true — no tuition? But you speaking to some educators is a nice story, but not statistically valid. I do understand the special needs part, charter schools are not going to invest in niche markets unless forced — they are for profit after all. Less sports teams too. Probably all extracurricular activities. although others may be specialized towards a certain discipline like oath keeping or anti fascism.
You know it happens, I just don’t know the national averages, or more important, state by state reviews.
That’s funny, you live surrounded by Dems and I live surrounded by Repubs. I had no issue with that decades ago, but just not sure I would make the same decision today. It is really stark out here now. Used to not matter much at all.
I agree Frank, our education system is not a disaster. But it is reflecting the commitment of the public at large for a public education system.
GOP budget cuts that filter their way down to the school system. Like you said, your system was supported by high property taxes – that is visible commitment! I knew a person in Avondale NJ who had a property no bigger than mine in NC but paid twelve times the property tax. Examine the federal education system budget over the past 60 years. IT has gone from 6% to 3% for public schools. And as GOP makes more budget cuts, expect your school system to get worse! Or your property taxes to go up up up and away!!!
Competition is a mixed bag in education mostly because public schools cannot charge tuition to ensure full funding. Also, public schools cannot enforce the strict discipline standards that charter schools can enforce. It is very hard to dis-enroll a public school kid for misbehavior because this increases county budget since the misbehaved students now has to by law be put on home school which means private tutors going to the home to teach them what they are not able to learn in the general education classroom setting due to their behaviors. Charter schools simply dis-enroll them, and send them to the public school, and expect me to work miracles. And the charter school simply goes to their waiting list to make another student happy by admittance. Public schools have to do all kind of plans, IEP, 504’s etc to show how they will deal with the misbehaving student, charter schools not the case. My solution was that I and another teacher recommended was to bring back rock piles. If the student misbehaves, send him to shovel the rock pile from one location to another until he or she has used enough energy that they can now behave in class. We were told this is illegal. But it is not illegal for the system to allow the misbehaving student to disturb class daily which denies good kids of their educational opportunity, nor is it illegal to charge you more taxes to hire teachers to work what is called “ISS – In School Suspension” because there is no parent at home to keep watch of the kid. Hell, you will pay bloody murder if you disturb a parents work schedule or inconvenience them by kicking their kid off of the school bus! You are correct, academic scores are not the best or even a fair comparison in many cases. And the more GOP cuts we get, the worse many communities will become, and their schools will reflect this. And as usual, those that can afford to pay charter schools will pull their kids out of public education, and those that cannot afford it will do the best they can but slowly get left behind. Sad.
As the author, Mr. Olivier, points out, what is ultimately at issue here is not whether public schools OR private schools should be supported but – rather – whether NC’s governor has or should be allowed to exercise “emergency” executive power to set aside laws properly developed and authorized by the state’s congress. I say NO!
That is true, that is the real issue. Very similar to the “activist judge” argument – does a judge have the right to cancel laws or force other laws, against the wishes of the elected government? I would think the governor has less power than a judge to do something like this.
As long as it’s legal, right guys?
NC legislature has a slim Red margin and they are squandering it quickly. If he pulls it and they can override, they will. It’s up to NC voters at this point. They chose both the gov and the statehouse.
If i had a kid in school right now , i would work two jobs to keep them out of the public cesspool that is the public school system. I am on the side of school choice (competition) between public and private education is a good thing.
Charter schools are an alternative to lousy public schools that don’t produce any progress in reading, math or the arts.Most PARENTS who have children in POOR performing schools CHOOSE to send their kids to Charter schools where kids learn and excel AND respect their teachers and WANT to learn. Their parents are actively involved with the school and their kids.and sometimes even volunteer to CLEAN the schools if they can’t afford a custodian.NOT ALL CHARTER SCHOOLS ARE ABOVEBOARD! There ARE “scam-sters” who take the $$$ and run, BUT MOST Charter schools help kids who are in poverty and education is a way OUT of this cycle of. gangs, drugs and guns.. These are the teachers who do NOT give $$ to the NEA AND are non-union members. This N.C. “governor” is BEHOLDEN to the UNION NEA(national education association) for $$ ONLY! He could care two beans less about kids furthering their education. GET RID OF THIS HYPOCRITE and VOTE HIM OUT!! “Declare” a state of emergency so the public schools lose kids FROM his donors list is GRAFT. IT’S THE KIDS THAT COUNT & NOT HIS UNION FUNDED CAMPAIGN MONEY!