North Carolina senator proposes private school voucher bill

A North Carolina senator has proposed a bill that would allow businesses to donate tax credits to private school vouchers.

North Carolina is the most recent in a growing number of states that are starting to consider – if not pass – bills that would allow families to receive government funding for private school education. The newest bill would allow companies or corporations based in North Carolina to donate tax cuts toward private school education.

Introduced by House Majority Leader Paul Stam, the bill would allow a tax credit worth the entire yearly state tax debt for a tuition donation from businesses that will help North Carolina parents afford private school education. The tuition help would be limited to families earning about $50,000 for a family of four, or less than 225 percent of the federal poverty level.

According to BusinessWeek, the $4,000 per student tuition aid from this proposed bill may cause more than 16,000 students to leave what are, actually, more expensive public schools for the state and local governments. This will, ultimately, cause them to save money.

"You can get an excellent private school education in Wake County for $5,200 a year," said Stam in an interview with BusinessWeek. "In rural counties, you can get an excellent one for $3,000 or $4,000 if it's housed in a church building. But whatever it is, it's a whole lot more affordable with a $4,000 scholarship than without it."

These new voucher programs that are increasingly appearing on Senate floors may present a challenge to private schools to keep more accurate track of where their funding is coming from. In order to effectively monitor this information, institutions may want to invest in a multi-user database or private school software that aid in funds tracking. 

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