“Private schools do not have to meet the same standards as public schools and don’t have to take students with disabilities and can discriminate on the basis of race, status or ability.”

 I’m writing as a concerned grandparent of children that attend public school in North Carolina and myself the product of an excellent public school education. 

Recently, Governor Cooper has called a state of emergency in our public schools due to a plan by the GOP led state legislators to decrease funding in the state budget for public schools — including charter schools while at the same time using those funds to add additional vouchers for private education. 

Private schools do not have to meet the same standards as public schools and don’t have to take students with disabilities and can discriminate on the basis of race, status or ability. They do not have to provide lunch or public transportation. 

Vouchers fail rural communities and students by depleting already challenged public funds due their low tax base. Some rural communities don’t even have a private school and those tax dollars could be used for a private school in a completely different district. 

The children of North Carolina deserve a fully funded budget as set forth in the state constitution and not an expansion of private school vouchers. 

Tracy Romak