RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — More funding for private school vouchers in North Carolina is temporarily off the table after Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed House Bill 10.
The governor, joined by educators and school board members from across the state, said the money should go to public schools first , and the almost half a billion dollars could be better used to give those schools more resources.
NC lawmakers pass $463 million school voucher bill
Republican state lawmakers voted earlier in September to allocate $463 million for private school vouchers. This came after lawmakers expanded voucher eligibility to all families earlier in the year and demand exploded, with around 55,000 students still on a waitlist.
Cooper maintains he is not against private schools, but says many of these vouchers will go to people who can already afford to pay private school tuition.
“It works for some children,” he said. “But I am against taking taxpayer dollars out of the public schools and giving it to private school vouchers for the wealthiest North Carolinians. That is exactly what HB 10 does.”