For WUNC, North Carolina Public Radio, Liz Schlemmer reports on the newest trend in voucher schools– raising tuition. Private schools enjoy some windfall revenue, while staying out of reach of the poorest families.
New research shows that many North Carolina private schools accepting vouchers significantly increased their tuition after the state expanded funding for the Opportunity Scholarship program.
Starting this past school year, any North Carolina family could apply for a state-funded scholarship to attend a private school, regardless of their income or if they had already attended a private school without an Opportunity Scholarship. The scholarship was worth up to $7,468 per student this school year, with the award amounts based on a student’s family income.
After this policy change passed, at least eight private schools raised their tuition to the exact amount of a full Opportunity Scholarship. Pungo Christian Academy in Beaufort County raised its tuition by nearly 40% in a single year, to just below the amount of a full scholarship. Grace Christian School in Sanford began requiring all students to apply for Opportunity Scholarships for the first time.
These examples caught the eye of Heather Koons, a researcher with the advocacy group Public Schools First NC.
Koons decided to track whether schools increased their tuition after this change, because research and reporting has found that this is happening in Iowa and Arizona, two other states that made vouchers universally available to all families.
Pungo Christian Academy’s Head of School Marcy Sasnett said the school’s tuition increase this year was the result of the school restructuring other fees that were previously billed separately, including books, technology and insurance fees, to combine them into the tuition price. Sasnett said the school’s total cost of attendance rose by only 18% this year, not by the 40% that Public Schools First NC reported by comparing tuition rates alone. The school maintains a relatively low tuition price among private schools, at $7,400 per year.
“This adjustment was made in response to a variety of factors, including general inflation, growing operational needs, and increased course offerings,” Sasnett said, adding that next fall, the school’s tuition will rise by only 4%.
Grace Christian School in Sanford began requiring all prospective students to apply for the Opportunity Scholarships. An administrator there did not respond to a request for comment.
Read the full article here. Liz Schlemmer