Baker Mitchell, founder of The Roger Bacon Academy, pens a powerful defense of school choice in the face of attacks by Democratic candidate for superintendent of public instruction Jen Mangrum:
More concerning than what she’s for is what she’s against. At the top of her list is the state’s Opportunity Scholarship Program, which provides low-income North Carolina students attending in-state private or religious schools with tuition assistance — something Mangrum considers “unconstitutional” and “a complete waste of money,” claiming at a candidate forum that the program is “starving our [public] schools.”
She’s also against allowing parents to choose charter schools over traditional public schools, which she believes “causes re-segregation and takes away money from traditional public schools,” according to the News & Observer. Unfortunately, this is also standard education-establishment fare.
Tonight at 7 pm, Mangrum will participate in a superintendent of public instruction candidate forum sponsored by the NC Association for Public Charter Schools and the NC Coalition for Charter Schools. Republican Catherine Truitt will appear on September 23 at 7 pm.
