North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) hosted a roundtable discussion on Thursday to highlight what he deemed as “the extreme Republican plans to undermine and underfund public education” in the state — where he attacked private school vouchers, despite the fact that he has sent at least one of his children to private school.
Education leaders across the state continue to speak out against unaccountable private school vouchers for the wealthy that will hurt our public schools. Today, Gov. Cooper was joined by Eastern North Carolina education leaders for a roundtable discussion in Pitt County. pic.twitter.com/h3XdJZbQI7
— Governor Roy Cooper (@NC_Governor) September 7, 2023
Private school vouchers are being embraced across the country as a way for lower-income individuals to take their children out of failing public schools and send them to a private school of their choosing, thus creating competition in the educational marketplace that can encourage schools to improve their services to attract more students.
However, Democrats oppose school choice — claiming that it will destroy the public school system and is designed to somehow only benefit the wealthy. During the roundtable discussion, Cooper echoed these arguments — claiming that Republicans were pushing “unaccountable private school vouchers for the wealthy that will hurt our public schools.”
In a press release about the roundtable, Cooper complained that a “voucher program expansion would pour billions of dollars in taxpayer money into private schools that are unaccountable to the public and can decide which students they want to admit.”
He went on to claim that the “plan would expand private school vouchers so anyone – even a millionaire – can get taxpayer money for their children’s private school tuition.”
Cooper is so opposed to North Carolinians being allowed to choose where to send their children to school that he even declared a “state of emergency” in May to prevent the state legislature from passing a school choice bill.
“It’s clear that the Republican legislature is aiming to choke the life out of public education,” he claimed in his declaration video. “I’m declaring this state of emergency because you need to know what’s happening. If you care about public schools in North Carolina, it’s time to take immediate action and tell them to stop the damage that will set back our schools for a generation.”
BREAKING: North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper declares a STATE OF EMERGENCY to fight against school choice.
This hypocrite sent his own kid to a private school.
We're freeing families from the clutches of the teachers unions once and for all & there's nothing he can do about it. pic.twitter.com/m4bbcpiEIx
— Corey A. DeAngelis, school choice evangelist (@DeAngelisCorey) May 22, 2023
Meanwhile, the Democrat governor has failed to mention that he has sent at least one of his three daughters to Saint Mary’s School, an expensive private school located in Raleigh, North Carolina. A 2017 press release from St. Mary’s confirmed that Cooper’s daughter, Natalie, had graduated from the elite private school in 2011.
Conservatives slammed Cooper for his hypocrisy on X, formerly known as Twitter, while also condemning the continued push to trap children in the failing public school system.
“Which private school did your girls go to? The issue is the elites, like you, don’t want poor kids going to school with your precious kids,” one user wrote.
Which private school did your girls go to? The issue is the elites, like you, don't want poor kids going to school with your precious kids.
— It's all a distraction (@it_distraction) September 7, 2023
“The state can’t expect to have a monopoly on education forever. Time to compete, create better schools, compensate teachers better, and provide a better option,” another user wrote.
The state can’t expect to have a monopoly on education forever. Time to compete, create better schools, compensate teachers better, and provide a better option.
— Coach Jason Phelix (@Coach_jphelix) September 7, 2023
