Statement on HB10 veto override from Executive Director Alexandra Sirota
Republicans in the majority of the NC General Assembly joined by three Democrats — Representatives Cunningham, Willingham, and Wray — voted to use our public money for the expansion of unaccountable private school vouchers for the wealthiest families in our state.
Private school vouchers are unpopular in North Carolina, and when voters have the chance to vote directly on them, there is strong opposition to them, as seen in the recent election across the country shows.
The bill these lawmakers supported, over the veto of Gov. Cooper, would raise costs for all of us by increasing fear in immigrant communities and growing mistrust in law enforcement by forcing cooperation with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents.
Meanwhile, the vast majority of the state’s children — future entrepreneurs, farmers, doctors, and educators — attend public schools that, through the General Assembly’s lack of funding, have consistently denied them their constitutional right to a sound, basic education and fueled unnecessary challenges for public school administrators and educators who work every day to support our children’s learning.
At the same time, communities across the state are demanding policymakers focus on the safety that their children need in a quality, affordable child-care setting while they work, that their family members deserve in workplaces without exposures to dangerous conditions, and that their neighborhoods require to provide the housing stability and affordability that builds community.
To add insult to injury, NC leaders took this vote to divert $463 million in taxpayer money to the richest in our state on the same day they proposed just $227 million to address the $53.6 billion in needs in Western NC after Hurricane Helene.
Current General Assembly leadership has our state on a collision course with the realities of math.
Our state simply cannot afford to continue to divert public money to the interests of the wealthiest few through private school vouchers or scheduled tax cuts on Jan. 1, and hope to fund the opportunity that sustains well-being in our state.
Public money should be supporting the rebuilding of Western NC, the education of every child, and the safety of everyone in our communities.
