Almost Every Dollar of School Vouchers in This Southern State Pays for Religious Education

93 Cents of Every School Voucher Dollar in North Carolina Winds Up in the Coffers of Faith-Based Private Schools

Despite what many would call a clear and obvious violation of First Amendment principles of separation of church and state, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that states can use the voucher system to help parents pay for private schools, and those schools can be faith-based. So, depending on where you live – at least 16 states plus the District of Columbia have school voucher programs – a portion your tax dollars are possibly going to Christian, Catholic, or Islamic faith private schools. And in those schools, most likely, children are being indoctrinated in misogynistic and homophobic beliefs, along with a denial of climate change and evolution.

In one of those 16+ states where lawmakers have embraced the school voucher public-to-private-religious-schools pipeline, 93 cents of every school voucher dollar goes to pay for educating young children in mostly Christian schools.

North Carolina has given parents $12 million this year in what they call “opportunity scholarships,” aka, school vouchers. Of that $12 million, more than $11 million, or 93 percent, has gone to pay for private religious schools, and just $800,000 has gone to private secular institutions, the Charlotte Observer reports.

“The government saves, the parents are happier, the children are being educated,” GOP state Rep. Paul Stam, one of North Carolina’s top anti-LGBT lawmakers, tells the Observer.

But opponents of school voucher programs rightly note those dollars that go to private schools could be used to improve what critics say are failing public schools, insufficient teacher salaries, crumbling infrastructure, and outdated or even nonexistant books and educational materials.

Each North Carolina student who qualifies is eligible for up to $4200 per year. The average price of a private school education in the Tar Heel State is more than twice that, $8800.

Also more than doubling is the amount North Carolina lawmakers are devoting to the school voucher program – which really is just a state-approved loophole to fund private, Christian education. Next year, parents will have access to a $25 million religious slush fund. Yes, $25 million of North Carolina taxpayers’ money will be poured into mostly Christian schools. The top recipient of school vouchers, Trinity Christian School, this year took in nearly a half-million dollars from “opportunity scholarships.”

“Religious schools may include worship, prayer and religious instruction as part of the school day,” the Observer reports.

Mark Helmer, a school principal at Covenant Day School and president of the Greater Charlotte Association of Christian Schools “said the bulk of school time is spent on academics – but those lessons may have religious themes, too,” according to the Observer.

“We really emphasize what we would call teaching from a Biblical world view,” Helmer said. For instance, he said, classes might discuss how the themes of a novel relate to the Bible or how God’s creation is reflected in the order of mathematics.

In Covenant’s science classes, lessons about the origin of Earth start with the premise “In the beginning God created …” then explore a range of interpretations, including evolution, said Head of School Mark Davis.

Not only are these private religious schools often teaching discrimination, and using tax dollars to do so, they are free to discriminate against LGBTQ youth and teens as well. They are only barred from discriminating against a student’s race or national origin.

 

Image by Michael 1952 via Flickr and a CC license
Hat tip: Raw Story