House continues education policy shift

by Patrick Gannon, The Insider, May 18, 2015.

If you haven't paid attention to the direction the Republican-led General Assembly is going in K-12 public education, the proposed N.C. House budget offers a tutorial in a microcosm.

The education budget, which the House is set to vote on, includes money to continue charter school expansion across North Carolina, as well as more funding for "Opportunity Scholarships," also known as school vouchers, which provide cash for lower-income students to attend private or religious schools.

The House budget also spends additional money for programs aimed at using computers and other digital technology to teach students.

The budget provisions expand upon controversial changes in the public education system that Republicans initiated when they took the reins of state government after the 2011 elections.

One of the first changes Republicans made was to lift the 100-school cap on charters that could operate in the state. Today, nearly 150 charters are teaching students, with more opening their doors every year. The proposed House spending plan would provide $1 million in each of the next two years to the pro-charter group Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina to provide grants intended to accelerate charter school development in rural areas.

The charter movement is showing no signs of slowing. Proponents of the schools, which receive taxpayer dollars based on the number of students enrolled, say they offer parents another choice of education for their children, who might not be succeeding in traditional public schools. Opponents say charters siphon money away from traditional schools, thus weakening them.

The House spending plan also boosts funding for school vouchers by $6.8 million in the 2015-16 fiscal year, bringing total spending on the $4,200-a-year grants to lower-income students attending non-public schools to $17.6 million in the coming year. The increased funding comes even as legislators await a state Supreme Court ruling on whether the program is constitutional.

Another main focus in the House education budget is on a continued transition to digital learning in classrooms. That's been a mantra often heard the past few years as technology becomes an increasingly integral part of our daily lives. The budget would spend an additional $50 million a year over the next two years on textbooks and digital resources, along with $12 million a year to help bring reliable Internet connections to more public school classrooms. The budget also gives $9 million a year to help set up regional organizations to provide technology support to school districts and other changes.

A recent debate on the House floor brought some interesting comments about the shift toward more computers and fewer chalkboard lectures. Rep. Rick Catlin, a New Hanover County Republican, said technology has become an addiction and doesn't always lead to greater productivity.

"I think it's time that we back off on this and start remembering what blackboards used to do," he said.

Another Republican suggested that kids can learn just as well from books as they can from computers and that money spent on technology would be better spent on leaky roofs and other school building issues.

After those comments, House Speaker Tim Moore, a Cleveland County Republican, gave a rare speech on the House floor, talking about the importance of technology in classrooms.

"If anyone in this chamber believes that digital learning is not important, you are sadly mistaken," he said. "This is the future."

So is the House education budget.