Pete Kaliner

Pete Kaliner

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Anti-choice zealots seek hostile takeover in NC

North Carolina has enjoyed a growing population for a long time, due mainly to people moving here. Our birth rates are actually lower than the national rate. So, why are public schools seeing a massive slowdown in student enrollment?

Dr. Terry Stoops, Vice President for Research and Director of Education Sstudies at the John Locke Foundation has a fascinating piece at Real Clear Education today. He describes it as "district defections."

Their loss is homeschool and charter schools’ gain. The N.C. Division of Non-Public Education estimates that Wake County had a homeschool enrollment increase of over 5,000 students since 2012. Durham and Mecklenburg counties added approximately 1,000 and 3,900 homeschoolers, respectively, during the same period. Likewise, according to N.C. Department of Public Instruction  data, charter school membership in Wake County increased by nearly 6,500 students between 2012 and 2018, second only to Mecklenburg County’s 10,000-student gain. Durham County had a nearly 3,000-student increase in charter school enrollment. 

Teachers unions are NOT happy and are planning their attack...

Teacher unions and public school advocacy organizations in North Carolina are ready to take drastic measures, and their most recent idea seeks nothing less than a hostile takeover of charter schools. Natalie Beyer, a Durham County school board member and board member of Public Schools First NC, told a reporter she would “like to at least have the conversation of charter schools being under school district control instead of as they now are operating independently.” If you can’t beat them, try to destroy them.  
As part of this effort, public school advocacy organizations and their union supporters will likely initiate an aggressive campaign to weaken their competition through the media, legislature, and the courts. When the N.C. General Assembly reconvenes later this month, lawmakers in the Democratic minority will propose measures to enlarge government oversight of charters and any school that receives funding from one of North Carolina’s three private-school choice programs. In addition, anti-choice interests will look to the courts to intervene, perhaps by using the state’s longstanding adequacy lawsuit as the basis for legal action. 

Indeed, here is that agenda .

As the new legislative session begins amid what's expected to be a nasty 2020 election season, we'll see if our intrepid political press corps will be able to ascertain anti-choice motivations besides altruism.

Pete's Prep: Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019

  • The man who got beaten up by an Asheville cop for resisting arrest over a jaywalking ticket was arrested on drug charges. Johnnie Rush got a $650,000 settlement from the City. Police say they found cocaine, marijuana, and guns in his apartment while serving a warrant.
  • Jason Sandford has a rundown of local development & tourist-related news at Ashvegas.com - including the head of the local Brewers Alliance getting arrested for embezzlement.
  • Western North Carolina Congressman Mark Meadows was re-elected as Chairman of the House Freedom Caucus. The Hill labels them "firebrand conservatives."
  • Republicans are ready to negotiate on border wall funding. Democrats don't appear to be. But that might change, given polling that shows voters in districts
  • British media is pleading with people on social media to dial down their attacks on Meghan Markle. It's so bad that the Royal Family has enlisted the help of Instagram.


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