The school voucher program is expanding in NC. Here’s a look at the 47 private schools in the Triad that received funding from the state last year.

Across the Triad and the entire state of North Carolina, private school enrollment — and the taxpayer dollars fueling this boom — appears to be swelling with no indications of slowing down. The state’s expanding Opportunity Scholarship voucher program is bringing a windfall of funding to private schools, and a Republican-driven bill that passed just this week promises another $5 billion for the program that will go directly to private schools as they educate more and more students with vouchers. 

While Republicans say that the expansion of school vouchers will help give parents and students more choice, analysis by Triad City Beat shows that most of the schools in the Triad that receive state funding are religiously affiliated and predominantly white.

A look at the schools

Twenty-eight private schools in Guilford County received a total $11.35 million in taxpayer dollars and 19 Forsyth County private schools received $7.36 million during the 2023-24 school year, according to the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority In Guilford, 1,742 students received vouchers last year; in Forsyth, 1,337 did. 

In May, the General Assembly passed legislation that eliminated the income cap for eligibility for vouchers. Now, children from wealthy families qualify for vouchers even if they are already enrolled in a private school and have never stepped foot inside a public school.  

An analysis by TCB found that not only does  the Republican-backed voucher program benefit wealthy families, it also largely supports schools with a religious affiliation. Most of the private schools receiving vouchers in Forsyth and Guilford counties are religiously affiliated, and of these schools, most identify as Evangelical Christian.

At $1.36 million, the Greensboro Islamic Academy received the most state funding of all the Guilford private schools that participated in the voucher program last year. The high figure reflects the fact that 232 students, making up 89 percent of the student body, received a voucher. All but a handful qualified for a Tier-1 voucher worth $7,468, the highest amount the state awards to the lowest-income applicants. The vouchers cover tuition, books, and transportation at the school. Families must pay out of pocket for uniforms and school meals.  

According to Sawsan Beidas, who oversees the program at the school, the academy receives some small grants but relies almost entirely on voucher funding for its existence. The school gained 20 new students with vouchers this year, enough to require hiring a new teacher, she said.

Located in East Greensboro, the school resides in an aging building previously occupied by Triad Math and Science Academy. 

On a recent Friday afternoon, boys and girls wearing hijabs and laughing raced around the small playground during recess while parents waited in the first-floor hallway to meet with staff.  Like a typical public school, banners with the words “compassion,” “integrity,” and “responsible” floated from the ceiling. Posters about proper hand washing and nutrition along with others explaining “What Do Muslims Believe?”, “Who Was Muhammad?” and “Do Islam, Christianity and Judaism Have Different Origins?” hung in the hallways.

Beidas said the school follows the standard North Carolina school curriculum but also requires Arabic as a second language, the Koran and Islamic studies. Its diversity can be seen in the large number of children whose families immigrated from Muslim countries.

Unlike public schools, private schools are not required to serve students with learning disabilities or other special needs and the Greensboro Islamic Academy is no exception. It does not enroll students with emotional or behavioral problems or learning disabilities because it does not have the resources, according to Beidas. The school’s website states that if a student is determined to have special needs, her or she will be required to withdraw.

With one exception, every High Point private school that accepts vouchers is religiously affiliated. The two receiving the most taxpayer dollars last year were High Point Christian Academy at $1.27 million and Wesleyan Christian Academy in High Point at $1.01 million. Triad City Beat reached out to both schools to request interviews but did not receive a response. The only non-religious private school in High Point with vouchers is Piedmont School, which specializes in education for ADHD and learning differences. 

All combined, the eight private schools in High Point that enrolled voucher students received more state funding than the 17 Greensboro schools that participated. High Point’s private schools received a combined $5.02 million, an average $627,620 per school last year.

In Guilford County, more than half (19) of the 28 private schools accepting vouchers are religiously affiliated. Four specialize in educating students with special needs: Lionheart Academy of the Triad, Noble Academy, Piedmont School and Impact Journey School. Three private schools began accepting vouchers for the first time in 2023-24: Beacon Academy in Stokesdale, Greensboro Day School and Clara Science Academy in Greensboro. 

Diversity on the decline

Several private schools doubled, tripled and even quadrupled their enrollment of students with vouchers in only one year. 

For example, Buffalo Academy’s state funding skyrocketed from $21,588 to $116,856 – an increase of 441 percent from 2022-23 to 2023-24. Vandalia Christian School’s funding more than doubled, from $362,941 to $760,679. Triad City Beat contacted both schools twice to request interviews and neither school responded. 

High Point Friends School’s public funding nearly tripled, ballooning from $42,596 to $124,646 from 2022-23 to 2023-24.

Rob Kelley, who arrived in June as the new head of school, said he did not know the reason for the increase, but said the school faced a steep drop in enrollment over the past several years and the voucher program is helping it rebuild. The program has also helped the school become even more racially diverse, Kelley said. About 40 percent of the school’s 66 students are non-white and nearly a third of all students received vouchers this year. 

“The state is helping us to live out our mission, which is based in equality,” Kelley said.  

High Point Friends and many other private schools may be gaining more students of color through the voucher program. Across the Triad, virtually all private schools enrolling students with vouchers are predominantly white. But across North Carolina, the proportion of Black students has steadily declined while white student participation has grown in private schools, according to the research group Public Schools First NC.

In its first year — 2014-15 — the voucher program had 51 percent Black students and 27 percent white students. But this past year only 19 percent of students with vouchers were Black, while 63 percent were white; Hispanic students made up 19 percent of students.

National data that looked at enrollment in private versus public schools found similar breakdowns for race. According to 2019 data from the National Center for Education Statistics, more than 63 percent of private school students were white, 10 percent were Black and 15 were Hispanic.

A big challenge for low-income families is that private schools are not required to provide free bus transportation, free or reduced meals, uniforms and special education services. If a private school doesn’t offer these services, or if its voucher program does not cover these costs, many families cannot participate.

Public school advocates push back

Teachers in both Guilford and Forsyth counties have railed against state legislators for sidelining public schools in their unions’ organizing rallies.

“Schools are in a crisis and we know who is to blame: the North Carolina Legislature’s attack on public schools,” said Joanna Pendleton of the Guilford County Association of Educators at an April School Board meeting.

“We’re experiencing a crisis across the state because as you know, we will be losing … millions of dollars in state funding for the expansion of private school vouchers,” cried Jennie Easter, president of the Forsyth County Association of Educators, at a Winston-Salem rally in May. 

Public school allies like the “Raging Grannies” in Guilford County expressed outrage in the songs they sang to kick off the union rally in front of the county courthouse. Beverly Bard, a retired teacher from Wisconsin, came out because she believes tax dollars for education should stay in public schools and not benefit “rich interests.” She said she was especially angry that the lottery now accepts children from affluent families. 

In a new development, the legislature is expected to approve another $463 million this week to eliminate the waitlist of 55,000 students who applied for vouchers for the current school year, according to EducationNC, a public school research and advocacy group.  NC Newsline reported that Sen. Michael Garrett (D-Guilford) said it was “immoral” and “a betrayal of this state’s values” to further expand the program.

“It’s a brazen attempt to subsidize the education of the wealthy at the expense of our most vulnerable children,” Garrett said. “It’s Robin Hood, but in reverse.”

Note: All financial and enrollment data provided by the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority.