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School vouchers may light up debate
(News & Observer, The (Raleigh, NC) (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Sep. 19--If you want to see the campaign for governor at its testiest, watch the candidates when the term "voucher" comes up.
Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, the Republican candidate, said he supports some form of school vouchers as a way to help disabled students, or those failing school. Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue, the Democrat, opposes vouchers as a threat to the state's public schools.
The disagreement on vouchers is just one of the ways the candidates differ on how to improve education in North Carolina.
McCrory wants a renewed emphasis on vocational education and to connect school to work by offering scholarships to students preparing for hard-to-fill jobs.
Perdue says she would offer more students free education at state community colleges and universities, and expand existing early-childhood programs Smart Start and More at Four.
But vouchers cause the most sparks, with Perdue running television ads attacking McCrory for his support for them.
The candidates are going to talk more about their plans today, when they answer questions at a forum on education.
McCrory said in an interview that he supports "selective use of vouchers as a form of scholarship for special-needs students," but has not worked out how students could qualify, how much it would cost, or how the state would provide the money. He said he has not developed a detailed proposal because he does not consider vouchers a priority.
Perdue rejects vouchers, saying they will take money out of the public system to support students from wealthier families who can afford to make up the cost between the voucher amounts and private school tuition.
"To rip that money out of the heart of the public schools goes directly against the concept of what the governor should do," she said.
Vouchers are a traditional Democratic-Republican divide in North Carolina. Perdue has used the issue to question McCrory's commitment to public education. Her campaign has run ads attacking McCrory for his support for vouchers, saying they would cost the state $900 million.
That attention-grabbing dollar figure assumes, though, that every student home schooled or enrolled in private school in North Carolina would get a voucher. That would be a much more extensive program than is available in any other state.
About 20 voucher programs are spread across 14 states, said Jeff Reed, director of the education task force at the American Legislative Exchange Council, a nonpartisan association for conservative lawmakers.
Vouchers or programs where parents can take tax credits for private education are typically limited to disabled or disadvantaged students in failing schools, Reed said. No state has a universal voucher program.
This year a bipartisan group of N.C. lawmakers pushed for a tax credit for special-needs students that would be worth as much as $6,000 per child each year. The bill died in committee.
McCrory says you can't offer vouchers to everyone. "There's a way to introduce vouchers in areas where schools are failing or where there are special-needs students where the public schools can't meet their needs," he said.
McCrory has consistently supported vouchers, but his talk of limiting them is new. During the Republican primary this year, he pitched vouchers as a way to increase competition among schools and offer parents more choices.
"The more competition we have, the more choice you have in education, the better our education is going to be for our kids," he told a Hendersonville crowd in March. "And parents must have these choices, both with charter schools, school vouchers, and also more choice at the local school."
In a candidate questionnaire distributed by the N.C. Family Policy Council, McCrory answered "yes" to, "Should parents who choose to educate their children in private, religious, or home schools receive a voucher or tax credit from the state?"
McCrory says Perdue is using the issue of vouchers against him but she supports a state law that gives taxpayer money to private colleges and universities that enroll North Carolina students. Perdue defends that use of taxpayer money, saying it does not interfere with the state constitutional guarantee of a free public education.
Mike Munger, the Libertarian candidate for governor, wants to use state lottery revenue to offer households $1,250 per child. This voucher could be spent only at a state-accredited school, or be taken as a tax credit when children are home-schooled. Households in the 40 poorest counties would be the first to get vouchers.
McCrory said the next governor likely will face a difficult budget year when the new administration takes office in January, limiting chances to start any new programs. Any voucher program would be small, he said, possibly limited to a rural school district.
He said the state needs to try new ideas if more students are to be successful. "The status quo will not be acceptable," he said. "Let's change things and experiment."
lynn.bonner@newsobserver.com or (919) 829-4821
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