The latest data from the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority show Mecklenburg County students received nearly $40 million in Opportunity Scholarship funding this school year to attend private schools.
The 2024-2025 school year was the first year Opportunity Scholarship vouchers were available to all, regardless of income.
The number of Mecklenburg students receiving vouchers nearly quadrupled to about 7,800. The dollar amount nearly tripled to approximately $39.2 million — second only to Wake County statewide.
A new state report Wednesday showed that of the more than 80,000 private school students getting Opportunity Scholarships, only about 6,700 were enrolled in a public school last year. That suggests most recipients likely already attended private school or came from out of state.
But Rob Dietrich of the Department of Public Instruction told the state board that because the Opportunity Scholarship program doesn’t use the same unique student identifier system used by public schools, it was difficult to track students through the system.
"It would be extremely helpful if the NCSEAA started using the unique identifier system so that we could properly identify who these students are when they come to us," Dietrich said.
DPI estimates the state saved about $10 million when comparing the vouchers paid to what those students would have cost in the public school system. By law, the state is supposed to reinvest those savings into the public school system.
