RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – Republican state lawmakers are likely to override Governor Roy Cooper’s veto of a controversial bill concerning school vouchers and undocumented immigration on Tuesday.
Cooper vetoed House Bill 10, which covers both of these topics, back in late September. However, the Republican Party currently holds three-fifths of the seats in both the North Carolina Senate and House, allowing the caucus alone to override any veto from the governor.
The General Assembly is scheduled to convene at least two times before the GOP is expected to lose its complete supermajority in January.
Republican state lawmakers voted earlier in September to allocate $463 million for private school vouchers. This came after lawmakers expanded voucher eligibility to all families earlier in the year and demand exploded, with around 55,000 students still on a waitlist.
After vetoing the bill, Governor Cooper said the money should go to public schools first and the funds could be better used to give those schools more resources.
Cooper maintains he’s not against private schools, but says many of these vouchers will go to people who can already afford to pay private school tuition.
“It works for some children,” he said after vetoing the bill in September. “But I am against taking taxpayer dollars out of the public schools and giving it to private school vouchers for the wealthiest North Carolinians. That is exactly what HB10 does.”
The governor added under this bill, rural communities would suffer the most.
“Most of these private schools that get this voucher money are in our urban areas,” Cooper said. “That’s where the money will go.”
Educators said this money could instead be used for raising teacher pay and paying retention bonuses, which are proposed in the governor’s budget. Along with school board members and county officials, they called on state lawmakers to uphold the governor’s veto.
“When I think about these funds, I realize they could go to technology, new and updated facilities, textbooks, and support for students with disabilities,” said Elyse Cannon McCrae, a social studies teacher in Pitt County. “You have to do right with this public funding. You have to support public education, the great equalizer in North Carolina.”
“We cannot afford to let this bill pass,” said Carlos Riddick, who chairs the Washington County Board of Education. “It’s time to stand up for our public schools, our communities, and, most importantly, our children.”
Vouchers are not the only controversial subject in the proposed law. It would also require sheriffs to cooperate with federal immigration officials and hold inmates charged with serious crimes if they are believed to be in the country unlawfully. Cooper has vetoed similar legislation twice before.
Republican advocates say the bill is necessary because some sheriffs in predominantly Democratic counties have previously disregarded detainers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“North Carolina is dealing with border issues right now,” Republican Speaker of the House Tim Moore said after state lawmakers passed the bill in September. “We’re dealing with thousands of people who are in this state who shouldn’t be here. And we’re dealing with folks who shouldn’t be here and committing serious crimes.”
Opponents of the legislation argue that it would unconstitutionally target Hispanic communities across the state.
“This bill not only strips away immigrant rights but also destroys the trust between law enforcement and our community,” said Pilar Rocha-Goldberg, president of El Centro Hispano, which is an organization that advocates for the state’s Hispanic communities.
Lawmakers will convene in Raleigh at noon on Tuesday.
