(The Center Square) – A school choice program that has helped more than 80,000 North Carolina students attend private schools last year has “room to grow,” according to a new report from a free-market think tank.
North Carolina private school enrollment has increased by 31% since the state’s Opportunity Scholarship Program began in 2020, according to the report by the John Locke Foundation.
The number of private schools has increased by 179 since 2020, and private schools still have 21% capacity for more students, the report said.
Private schools anticipate a continuing increase in demand and want to expand but are challenged by a lack of funding, excessive regulations and difficulty hiring teachers, the report concluded.
In compiling the report, the Locke Foundation surveyed two groups: private school leaders and “educational entrepreneurs.”
The surveys found that both groups are “very much interested” in expanding classroom capacities to meet demand.
“Nevertheless, these plans are often blocked by access to funding, lack of existing facilities, excessive zoning and building regulations, and difficulty in hiring qualified teachers and staff,” the report said.
It recommends that the state shift from an appropriation every legislative session to a stable funding formula.
This would “provide school leaders and entrepreneurs with reliable funding levels, send a strong signal to education markets, and most importantly, remove important decisions from annual political debates,” the report concludes.
It also recommends creating an office – either public or private to “champion” the scholarship program through marketing and other efforts.
Expanding funding by issuing tax credits for donations to the program by individuals and corporations would also help, the Locke Foundation stated in the report.
The average annual tuition of private schools surveyed was $8,748.
About one-fourth of the state’s 1.8 million K–12 students attend either a charter school, private school, or home school, the Foundation said.
For the 2024-25 school year the state awarded 80,000 Opportunity Scholarships. The awards vary based on family income, ranging from $3,360 to $7,648.
“State law allows any K–12 student to apply for a scholarship under the Opportunity Scholarship program,” the report states. “Still, current budgets are woefully insufficient to fund all applicants.”
However, only 8.4% of the students receiving Opportunity Scholarships were previously enrolled in public schools, according to recent State Board of Education data.
“Hence, most of the students who received new Opportunity Scholarships were already enrolled in private schools,” the Locke Foundation said.
