“The application period opened Thursday under new rules that allow any North Carolina family to apply for a private school voucher. As of Monday afternoon, there have been 31,603 completed Opportunity Scholarship applications, according to Kathy Hastings, a spokesperson for the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority.”
T. Keung Hui reported in today’s News & Observer that the expected rise in applications for the North Carolina Opportunity Grants indeed did happen.
And it is not surprising, especially since the least transparent voucher system in the nation is not reporting how many of those who are applying already attend private schools or would have never met the minimum of income that was originally stipulated when the vouchers here in NC went into effect.
“It’s unknown how many of the new voucher applicants are existing private school families or are people who are leaving public schools.”
When income level requirements were eliminated, the ability for any family to apply for a voucher became a reality. And if North Carolina is to keep financing a voucher scheme that is more opaquely regulated than places like Arizona or Missouri, then it makes sense that the percentage of families applying for vouchers who already sent their students to private schools is very high.
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