Regardless of how the courts rule, there remain questions as to the efficacy and propriety of the voucher program:

1. Has the Republican-led legislature turned its back on public education in spite of the fact that it is their job to nurture it both financially and, perhaps of even greater importance, with their hearts and souls?

2. Have legislators been influenced by lobbyists for private/religious schools? What role has groups like the Art Pope-sponsored PEFNC (Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina) played in the development of the bill?

3. Are standards equally applied to the evaluation of public and private/religious schools?

4. Has this legislature considered allowing a few public schools to operate with no state standards to see if they improve?

5. Who will be held liable if/when a student who has been provided a voucher to a private/religious school is abused or harmed in some way?

6. Are plans afoot to provide security officers in private/religious school to promote the safety and security of those students attending on vouchers?

7. Have background checks been conducted on teachers and staff of all private/religious schools to protect voucher enrollees from predators?

8. Who will be responsible for enforcing school attendance laws?

9. Will it become possible for tax money to be diverted from tax-funded community colleges and universities to privately operated schools?

One of the most quoted arguments in favor of the voucher program is that public schools need the competition from private, religious and for profit- schools. There may be some logic in that reasoning, but are the incentives of the market really transferable to the process of education? 

However, there has been precious little systematic comparison to convince reasonable legislators to dive headfirst into these murky waters. Competition is usually based on written rules and what is referred to as a “level playing field.” It is hard to compete when officials are able to make up the rules as they go along.

I give a lot of credence to the old adage, “Be careful. Don’t trade a good mule for a picture of a thoroughbred.” It may be fair to ask — who’s minding the education store in North Carolina?

(Dave Waldrop lives in Webster and can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..)