Category Archives: EDUCATION

The pushback on vouchers has been simmering for a while now, but garnered a bit more attention when North Carolina’s top school official, Dr. June Atkinson, decided to make a rather poor analogy:

“With the voucher legislation that we have we could be in dangerous territory as far as taxpayers’ dollars going to private schools,” she said prior to speaking to the N.C. School Boards Association’s Public Policy Conference. “There is nothing in the legislation that would prevent someone from establishing a school of terror.“ – WECT

This sentiment, albeit toned down, was recently echoed by Mt. Airy Board Chair Wendy Carriker. Emphasis added:

Carriker said the voucher program does not require participating private schools to engage in non-discriminatory admission practices and said it requires the State Board of Education to reduce funding to each local board of education in an amount equal to the local board’s per pupil allocation for average daily membership multiplied by the amount of students who receive vouchers and were enrolled in the local board’s schools in the prior semester. – Mt. Airy News

Well the first part of that statement is a bit silly. In other words, how dare a parent choose a school on their own knowing full well what they do or don’t endorse? What kind of ‘discriminatory practices’ could Carriker possibly be talking about? Where’s her evidence that this happens or that a school like that would be included in this program? None. It’s conjecture. She’s seems to be trying to play up the Myrtle Grove Christian school story without actually using the ‘schools of terror’ moniker Atkinson did. Myrtle Grove doesn’t participate in any voucher system nor will it — but that’s besides the point… Schools of Terror, ya’ll!! Continue reading →