Actually, he doesn’t.

He wants to give every family that applied for a voucher tax payer money no matter their income to send their kids to private schools at the expense of the state’s public school system.

Look at Public Schools First of North Carolina’s report on the application process for vouchers to be used next school year.

PSFNC’s analysis of the data is spot-on.

Using data from NCSEAA reported on March 5, the percentage of applicants by tier shows that fewer than half (45%) are in Tier 1 and Tier 2. The maximum allowable income for Tier 2 eligibility is $115,440 (i.e., 200% of federal free lunch income for a family of four). Census data puts the median annual family income in North Carolina at $66,186, well within the Tier 2 range and much lower than the top income for Tier 2 eligibility. 

Also noteworthy is that the total number of Tier 1 and Tier 2 applicants is lower than the total voucher users (enrollments) for 2023-24, the current school year. Every year there is a drop-off from number of applicants to actual voucher users, so the 32,400 Tier 1 and 2 applicant number for this year will shrink. 

The majority of applicants (55%) are from high income families, with 18% making more than $259,740 per year. 

The percentage of low-income applicants (19% in Tier 1, $57,720 and below) is nearly identical to the number of applicants in the highest income tier (18% in Tier 4, $259740 and above).