By Katherine Zehnder
Carolina Journal
On Wednesday, the House passed HB 10, which passed the Senate earlier this week. The multifaceted bill fully funds opportunity scholarships, requires sheriffs to cooperate with ICE, and includes adjustments to the budget proposal.
“I applaud our conservative Republican lawmakers and legislative leadership for their actions today which maintain our trajectory of financial responsibility,” said Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson in a press release. “These budget revisions will help ensure that even more North Carolina families have access to Opportunity Scholarships, which allow parents to find educational opportunities that best meet the needs of their children. I am also pleased to see lawmakers act to end the practice of liberal sheriffs refusing to cooperate with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). As the dangerous open-border policies of the Biden-Harris Administration continue to flood our state with violent criminals and dangerous drugs, it is more important than ever before to ensure that local law enforcement are working with federal agencies as partners to protect our communities.”
This bill requires sheriffs to cooperate with ICE. Despite many misconceptions heard both in the House Rules Committee and on the House floor, this bill only applies to violent crimes and violent misdemeanors, not minor infractions such as driving without a license. Sen. Danny Britt, R-Hoke, explained more on the Senate floor Monday.
The bill includes also $95 million for K-12 public school enrollment growth and $64 million for the Community College System for enrollment growth. The state has adopted a new funding model that is based on the previous year’s enrollment rather than on projections alone. The new enrollment growth account balance currently sits at $2.5 million, less than 5% of the expected funding necessary to meet the needs of K-12 enrollment growth for this year. Community colleges are facing similar challenges as the two-year budget passed last fall does not provide sufficient funding for enrollment growth.
In fully funding the Opportunity Scholarships Program, clearing the waitlist, lawmakers address a critical shortfall for families exercising school choice across the state. Approximately 50,000 families were left hanging when OSP funds were quickly exhausted following the expansion and promotion of the program.
HB 10 also authorizes a new program to expand high-speed internet in rural communities.
According to Section 10.1 (a) of HB 10 (pg 9), in addition to funds appropriated to the Department of Information Technology from the State Fiscal Recovery Fund and the Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund, an additional $190 million has been appropriated to expand broadband access. Both of these reserve funds are funded with federal tax dollars rather than state tax revenues.
Earlier this year, the two chambers of the General Assembly failed to agree on adjustments to the biennial budget during the short legislative session. This included a school choice funding gap that left approximately 50,000 families who’d applied to the expanded Opportunity Scholarship Program in limbo for months.
The House voted to pass HB 10 67-43
Other business conducted by the House included passing SB 917 82-27 and SJR 918 108-0. SJR 918 is a joint resolution to confirm Adam Lockhart Taylor to the Board of Review.
The House also overrode governor’s veto of SB 166, enacted it into law.
Just so I understand correctly regarding the Opportunity Scholarship Program:
-Parents have the choice to the taxpayer dollars, allotted for their child, to a private school of their choice.
-If parents decide it isn’t a good fit, the local public school has to take the student back, with no money following that student.
-The parents have to provide transportation and food as the private school likely has limited, if any, transportation provided, nor does it have free breakfast or lunch programs provided.
The company line is “this is providing opportunities for the lower income families to get to a better learning opportunity.” The reality is that those lower income families who would benefit most, can’t because of transportation and food needs. By default, middle/upper-middle/and upper-income earners stand to benefit.
All the while, we will soon be shown data that the OSP is increasing test scores and increasing student learning, while public schools are falling behind in test scores and learning. I couldn’t imagine why. Classrooms sit full of students, and missing a teacher. Johnston County is falling further behind Wake County in financial commitments to teachers, leading to an increase in empty teacher’s desks, and their are no good applicant pools for those teacher’s desks in the pipeline.
What a mess. The program has really strong intentions, and really poor (intended?) consequences and realities.