Chance Beckmann

Jeff Zenger and Tricia McManus

Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, enrollment in public schools has continually dropped. Part of the reason why is state governments have found it much more cost-effective to fund private schools than increase funds for public schools. Many state legislatures, including North Carolina’s, have adopted new Choice Program bills, which provide money to private schools in the form of Opportunity Scholarships and direct funds. With these changes, the United States is expected to see its largest decrease in public school enrollment in the 2025-2026 school year. According to Learning Counsel, an organization that predicts school enrollment nationwide, public schools are projected to lose approximately 4 million students to private schools and homeschooling. Enrollment is also expected to decline into the 2030s.

Where does this leave North Carolina? Well, North Carolina was one of the first states to adopt School Choice, a program intended to give students more options for alternative education. This adds opportunities for students, like magnet schools, homeschooling curriculums and even facilities like the Career Center in downtown Winston-Salem.
In 2024, North Carolina’s Congress passed House Bill 823 to increase funding for Choice and clear the ESA+ waitlist, a program designed to provide funding for children with learning disabilities. Increased choice for students and more funding for special education doesn’t significantly affect public school enrollment, however, what was packaged alongside it in HB 823 is what people are concerned about.

Over 460 million dollars was designated for private school vouchers while only 95 million dollars in recurring funds was provided for K-12 education. These recurring funds did not include state-employed teacher pay raises.

Sponsors of HB 823 argue that the emergence of private schools, charters and homeschooling is a good thing, not only for students, but for public school quality as well.
“What you’re seeing right now with charter schools and the explosion of private schools and private homeschooling is you’re seeing a little bit of competition, but competition always brings out better results for the consumer; the student being the consumer in this case. I think what’s going on is healthy and I think ultimately it will continue to make everybody better,” Representative Jeff Zenger said.

Supporters look at it from a business perspective. Economically, private and charter schools are significantly more cost-effective. Governments are shown to save up to 70 percent in all costs when they prioritize private education. On top of that, private schools perform much better academically as opposed to public schools, which have had declining test scores and literacy rates.
Tricia McManus, the superintendent of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools (WSFCS), argues that giving private schools vouchers with no maximum income limits is the real problem. As of right now, anybody, no matter their income level, can apply for school vouchers, and while the vouchers do not cover 100 percent of a child’s tuition, they supplement a significant amount, usually ranging from 40-80 percent. There is also a cap on how many people can apply.

She argues that this is a bad thing because instead of funding public schools, the government is essentially paying for wealthy families to go to school, and funding, she says, is the number one solution to the education problems in North Carolina.

Money problems are one thing that WSFCS has. In the 2023-2024 fiscal year, it was found that WSFCS overspent its budget by $16 million, and WSFCS isn’t the only district that overspent. The loss of ESSER+ funds, money designated for the pandemic, and no subsequent change in spending, is the most prominent reason for the deficits statewide.
Another critique is that there is no accompanying price cap alongside state-funded scholarships. For example, if a $3,000 scholarship is awarded to a private school, the school has the ability to increase tuition and in turn, its profits, which some schools have already done.

This puts the middle class, which has been increasingly burdened in the 21st century, under even more pressure. Families face the choice to either save money and send their children to declining public schools, or bite the bullet and pay disproportionately inflated tuitions for access to resources and higher-quality education. And with a cap on how many students can be rewarded, there are bound to be disadvantaged families who end up paying full price, or a higher cost.

Lack of funding, mismanagement of available funds, state legislation that subsidizes private education and declining test scores and literacy rates have all led to declining enrollment in public schools. The worsening quality of public education leads families to look for higher-quality alternatives. Higher quality, however, comes with higher prices, and the average family will struggle to afford it. This leaves the future of education in North Carolina in a tough predicament, and in 2075, there’s no telling what public education will look like.