News broke on May 29 that State Auditor Dave Bolieck’s office is conducting an audit of the Opportunity Scholarship program. According to Randy Brechbiel, a spokesperson for the State Auditor’s Office, “We would like to have the audit complete by fall, but it depends on the amount of work required and other projects in the pipeline.”
The news of a state audit was welcomed by critics of the voucher program (like PSFNC) who frequently point out the program’s lack of transparency and accountability. Time will tell if the audit is rigorous and transparent or results in a public report that includes the evaluation/audit criteria and data used. Given the hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars being spent each year on OS vouchers, a final public report with just a summary or “selected findings” would be insufficient. Let’s all encourage a thorough, detailed, and timely report that includes recommendations to improve program accountability and transparency.
In response to questions, State Auditor Bolieck said, “The mission of the State Auditor’s Office is to provide oversight and accountability of entities receiving public funds, and the Opportunity Scholarship Program falls under that category. This is a relatively new program that receives significant appropriations to provide families with expanded educational options. It is advantageous to families, students, and North Carolinians that we evaluate initiatives like the Opportunity Scholarship program to ensure they are delivering on intent.”
Opportunity Scholarships (OS) were initially intended for low-income families to opt out of their local public school. Eligibility was limited to families with incomes no greater than 133% of the federal free/reduced lunch eligibility income; only students who had been enrolled in a public school the previous year (except K-1) could apply.
The original intent was abandoned when the state legislature enacted legislation to promote the program, allowed families of all income levels to apply, and removed the requirement for prior public-school enrollment.
While the OS voucher program is intended to provide educational opportunities for students, legislation includes no requirements for student academic achievement, teacher qualifications, or guardrails to ensure that state funds are used for educational purposes.
The OS program has now become a direct pathway for the public to pay private school tuition (or a portion) for anyone who wants it, regardless of whether the private school provides an adequate education or any meaningful academic content at all.
The Office of the State Auditor (OSA) website states that, “OSA thoroughly investigates alleged cases of fraud, waste, and abuse of taxpayer dollars, working with law enforcement on prosecution when warranted.”
When lawmakers direct public funds to private schools, is it an abuse of taxpayer dollars if those funds go to schools with little-to-no academic credentials or to a school affiliated with an alleged cult?
Word of Faith Fellowship has been investigated for being a cult and is featured in an HBO documentary on cults. Word of Faith Academy in Rutherford County has no website on record with the Division of Non-Public Education and provides no publicly available information about the school, but it shares a physical address with Word of Faith Fellowship. The church’s pastor, Jane Whaley, is listed as the administrator for Word of Faith Academy. So far this year, the school has received more than $400,000 in taxpayer tuition voucher payments from the state.
When private schools take public funds, presumably to provide opportunities for families to “choose” the most appropriate education for their child, are the schools acting fraudulently if they implement discriminatory admissions policies that deny any real choice?
For example, North Raleigh Christian Academy in Wake County refuses to admit students with IQs of 90 or less or any other student “whose learning, behavioral, or physical needs cannot be met” within their existing programs, services, or staff, including students with traditional IEPs. So far this year, the school has received $6.3 million in taxpayer tuition voucher payments.
Are schools acting fraudulently or abusing taxpayer dollars when they charge different tuition for students of different religious beliefs? Cardinal Gibbons High School in Wake County charges $20,395/year for non-Catholic students and drops the rate to $15,150/year for Catholic students. The school has already received $4 million in tuition vouchers from the state this year alone.
Are schools acting fraudulently or abusing taxpayer dollars when they require all families to apply for OS voucher funding as part of their application process regardless of whether the family needs or wants to apply? For example, Grace Christian School in Lee County requires all families to apply for an OS voucher as part of its application process. The school then adds its own financial aid package to the state funds to approximately double the financial aid package for the family.
According to the school’s tuition calculator, a family of 3 with an annual income of $300,000 will receive a $3,574 tuition discount from the OS voucher and a discount of $4,925 from the school’s tuition assistance program, cutting the annual high school tuition from $18,300 to $9,801.
If the same family had an annual income of $50,000, their tuition would drop by $7,942 from the OS voucher and $7,060 more from the school’s tuition assistance program, bringing their annual tuition down to $3,298.
Grace Christian has received $5.8 million in tuition vouchers from the state so far this year.
Are families acting fraudulently or abusing taxpayer dollars when they falsely report on their OS application a family income that is lower than their actual income so they can qualify for more funding? What guardrails are in place in the OS program to ensure that these families don’t benefit from OS voucher payments?
State auditors will have access to much more information on voucher-accepting private schools and their students than is currently available to the public, including graduation rates, academic tests administered, and student test scores. We hope the auditors will use this information to evaluate whether the schools receiving the voucher funds are providing an adequate education to their students or are abusing/misusing state funds.
We also hope the auditor will recommend regulations to require all schools to provide key information on a public website (e.g., tuition, grade served, curriculum, staff qualifications) and regulations to prevent discriminatory or sham schools from getting voucher funds. When public dollars are at risk, the voucher-accepting private schools should be held to the same standards as public schools.
The State Auditor’s website reads, “We encourage all members of the public with information on improper government conduct to inform OSA through the safe and secure Tipline.”
It is imperative that those who have knowledge of fraud and waste speak up now to help guide the audit process. If you’ve seen evidence of fraud, abuse, or lack of transparency in the OS voucher program, help the auditor’s office by reporting it immediately to the NC Tipline.