RALEIGH, N.C. — Funding in the state budget for the opportunity scholarship program ran out quickly this year with many people left on a waitlist hoping for more dollars to be added.

What You Need To Know

  • Many families that qualified for opportunity scholarships in North Carolina are now waitlisted because the fund ran out of money

  • The North Carolina General Assembly meets again Monday

  • North Carolina Republican leaders have not stated outright if they will take up a vote to add funding for the opportunity scholarship program

Gov. Roy Cooper and other Democratic leaders said no more taxpayer dollars should be designated to fund this initiative.

The argument is about whether taxpayer money should fund private school education.

The North Carolina General Assembly will meet on Monday. The possibility of a vote to expand funding to the opportunity scholarship program looms.

Brian Jodice is a father of two girls who were once in public school but now attend private schools in the Triangle area.

“School choice programs like this are investing in students,” Jodice said.

Jodice is also the executive vice president of parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina, a statewide leading advocacy group for school choice.

“It’s hard for me to separate the job from being a parent in this world,” Jodice said.

The North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority oversees the opportunity scholarship. The program was created more than 10 years ago. The idea behind it is based on the belief that it could give low-income families a chance to afford to send their children to private schools.

Millions of dollars are set aside every year to fund these scholarships. However, with a tweak in qualifications to include a broader socioeconomic pool of families this school year, there are thousands of families waitlisted that qualified.

This is why Jodice said approving more state dollars is the right thing to do.

“I’ve just been a believer that let them find what’s the best fit and let’s get them there if we can,” Jodice said.

Cooper said at a press conference that will further strip needed money from public school systems.

“Apparently, they are coming back to take hundred of millions of dollars away from public education,” Cooper said.

Democratic House Leader Robert Reives representing District 54 seconded that.

“When Republicans talk about opportunity you gotta ask, 'opportunity for whom?'” Reives said.

The calendars for next week's session have not been released by Republican leaders yet. 

There is no guarantee this will come up for a vote, but it is one of the issues still viable for a vote by lawmakers this year. 

Close to 72,000 applications for opportunity scholarships were submitted by March 1, but there was only enough money for the lowest income level North Carolinians to receive scholarships.