The public vs private school debate is not new. In our own community, this has been documented back to the nineteenth century.

City View writer Reggie Barton published an article about Alexander Graham and the need for “graded schools.” Those with means, affluent white families, had the ability to pay for private education which lumped all ages together…no grades. “In 1867, African Americans established the Howard School in Fayetteville to educate black children.”

“In Fayetteville, support for public schools at that time was evidenced by editorial comments that appeared in the North Carolina Gazette, a local newspaper. In its Jan. 10, 1878, edition, the Gazette bemoaned that good schools all over North Carolina could “be patronized by only people of means” and that to date the public school effort in North Carolina had been a “disastrous failure.” In closing, the article stated: “… the toilers and the laborers — ‘the bone and sinew’ — where is the provision for their benefit? Not a single large public school, not a single graded school, in Fayetteville.’”

“The Fayetteville system of graded public schools went into operation in mid-September 1878. The faculty included Alexander, as well as seven other instructors.”

“One notable comment quoting Alexander, which appeared in the Fayetteville Examiner, said, “The children of the rich and poor sit side by side and contend for the same honors.”

In 2024, don’t be fooled…vouchers are giving advantages to those with means. People are saying “Parents have a right to do what they wish with their tax dollars” as it relates to education; however, there is no accountability with those tax dollars. Yet when it comes to other situations involving government overreach and a lack of accountability and transparency, the masses speak out and demand accountability.

Our General Assembly and others who support the voucher programs are trying to take ou

r public schools back to the 1800s in the name of “parent choice.”

Our School Board needs someone who understands the voucher program and is FULLY committed to doing what’s best for ALL students in Cumberland County.

Vote for Tom Hatch! Early voting begins October 17th.