The charter school debate is no longer over how many of these schools to allow, but rather over taxpayer funding and school oversight.
Members of the House Education Committee floated several changes to Senate bill 8 Tuesday morning including a yearly limit on new licenses to 50 schools.
"Around the country this is not a partisan issue," said House Majority Leader Skip Stam. "One of the biggest boosters of charter schools is President Obama and his Secretary of Education."
But there is a partisan divide in North Carolina.
Representative Rick Glazier, (D) Cumberland County, has filed competing legislation House bill 247.
It also opens the door for more charter schools, and creates a NC Charter School Commission with mandated oversight by the state's Board of Education.
The Senate version also creates a new charter commission to license and oversee the schools, the state's Board of Education could veto its decisions with a three-fourths majority.
But Glazier wants to ensure school diversity, by requiring charter schools to participate in free and reduced priced meals and cut transportation funds if the service is not offered to economically disadvantaged students.
"It doesn't do what Senate bill 8 does. It doesn't take away all the money from schools from child nutrition programs, from athletic booster clubs, or from transportation."
Glazier's argument is if a charter is not offering transportation, meals or sports programs, they should not receive taxpayer money for those services.
Amendments made on the Senate version try to clarify local district funding.
Representatives in the House Education Committee plan to vote on the Senate bill next Tuesday and it will move on to Finance Committee.
Glazier's competing bill was just filed.
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