Gaston County Community Talk

Letter to the Editor: The Student They Gave Up On

To the editor:

I have been following the debate over public school funding, vouchers, and the constant attacks on public education in North Carolina.

This debate is personal for me.

I am a former Gaston County student who attended high school in the 1980s. Academically, I was not struggling. I consistently made the honor roll. On the PSAT, I was told I scored among the highest students in the Gaston County Public School.

But I was also struggling in other ways.

I was dealing with trauma. I was skipping school. I was making poor choices. I missed an extraordinary number of days.

Looking back decades later, I often wonder what might have happened if someone had looked beyond my attendance record and seen my academic potential.

What if a counselor had seen a student maintaining strong grades despite overwhelming personal challenges and asked a different question?

Not, “How do we punish this student?”

But, “How do we help this student succeed?”

Instead, I was held back because of attendance, and then months later, placed back in the correct grade because I had made the honor roll. I would drop out a year later.

Years later, a younger relative of mine sought guidance from the same counselor when considering dropping out. According to that relative, the same counselor suggested that dropping out might be a reasonable option.

That still raises a troubling question for me.

How many students have slipped through the cracks because the adults responsible for guiding them failed to see their potential — or worse, helped sabotage it?

This is one reason the debate over public school funding matters.

Not because public schools are perfect. They are not.

Not because every school employee makes the right decision or belongs anywhere near children. They do not.

But because students facing trauma, poverty, unstable homes, substance abuse, learning challenges, and other obstacles need more support, not less.

They need unbiased and competent counselors.

They need objective social workers.

They need appropriate mentors.

They need teachers who have the time and resources to see more than a test score or an attendance record.

Today, some conservatives argue that public schools should simply “fix the system.”

But fixing a system requires investment.

It requires people.

It requires resources.

And it requires a belief that every child is worth the effort.

The student in this story eventually earned a GED, served in the military, built a career, and spent decades contributing to his community.

But the question remains:

How many other students with similar potential never got that second chance?

As lawmakers debate school funding, vouchers, and education policy, that may be the most important question of all.

Are public school students being allowed to fail because of government policy choices?

Signed,

A former Gaston County public school student

Editor’s Note: Gaston County Community Talk welcomes letters to the editor from local residents on issues affecting our community. Submissions may be edited for clarity, length, and accuracy. Publication is not guaranteed and remains at the discretion of GCCT.

FYI: Starts tomorrow morning.

Join us tomorrow for a wonderful, fun-filled day! We will have a wide variety of items such as clothing, shoes, personal care products, and much more! There will be activities available for the kids to enjoy such as games, face paintings, and balloon animals. Wise Staffing will be onsite for anyone seeking employment opportunities, and Compassionate Paws Ministry will be available to provide resources for animal care. The event will also feature a delicious lunch and inspiring guest speakers. You won't want to miss it! Invite your family and friends!

June 20th is next week's Saturday.

One of the most common claims made in these school funding debates in our comment section is:

"If public schools would fix the system, parents wouldn't be fleeing for private schools."

That might sound persuasive to someone who has NOT looked at the data.

A significant portion of Opportunity Scholarship recipients were already attending private schools before receiving vouchers. In other words, many families did not leave public schools. Republican legislators made Taxpayers simply begin subsidizing tuition costs for students who were already enrolled in private schools.

That is an important distinction.

The debate is often framed as if there is a massive exodus from public schools because families are fleeing failing schools. But if many voucher recipients were already in private education, then a large share of the program functions as a taxpayer subsidy for existing private school families rather than a rescue program for students escaping public schools.

There is another reality often left out of the discussion.

A family cannot simply decide to use a voucher and walk into any private school that can discriminate based on disabilities, religion, language, and other criteria.

The school must first accept the student.

Unlike public schools, private schools can establish admissions standards and are not required to serve every child who applies. Public schools, on the other hand, have a legal obligation to educate all students who reside in their district.

Transportation is another major hurdle.

Public schools provide bus transportation for students. Most private schools do not. Opportunity Scholarships help pay tuition, but they generally do not solve the problem of how a student gets to and from school each day.

For many working-class families, transportation alone can make private school attendance unrealistic. That challenge is even greater in largely rural areas, where public transportation options are limited or nonexistent, making daily travel to private schools difficult, time-consuming, and costly.


This is why the debate should be honest. People should stop repeating bad-faith talking points that are unsupported by the evidence and start engaging with the facts. Public policy should be shaped by data and reality, not slogans and misinformation.

If someone believes taxpayer dollars should support private school choice, make that argument without demonizing and stereotyping public schools and educators.

If someone believes public schools should receive those funds instead because they are legally required to serve every student, make that argument.

But let's stop pretending every voucher represents a student fleeing public education. The evidence simply does not support that narrative.

The real question is whether North Carolina should continue sending increasing amounts of public money to private institutions while public schools face staffing shortages, facility needs, and budget pressures.

That's the debate worth having.

— Gaston County Community Talk Editorial

A recent graphic circulating from Public Schools First NC highlights two education funding debates that continue to shape the future of Gaston County schools.

According to the graphic, if the state had fully funded the court-ordered Leandro education plan, Gaston County Schools could have received an estimated $82.2 million in additional resources for teachers, counselors, social workers, school psychologists, bus drivers, teacher assistants, facility improvements, and other educational needs.

The same graphic notes that from 2014 through April 2026, private schools in Gaston County received approximately $44.8 million through North Carolina's taxpayer-funded Opportunity Scholarship voucher program.

Supporters of vouchers argue that parents should have the freedom to choose the educational environment that best fits their children and that funding should follow students rather than institutions.

Critics argue that public schools are being asked to do more with less while taxpayer dollars are increasingly diverted to private institutions that are not required to accept every student, provide the same services, or operate under the same public accountability standards as traditional public schools.

These debates are no longer theoretical.

Gaston County Schools are currently discussing budget pressures, staffing concerns, and the possibility of layoffs. Educators continue to raise concerns about teacher retention, support staff shortages, aging facilities, and unmet student needs.

At the same time, North Carolina lawmakers continue expanding voucher programs while public school advocates point to the unfinished promises of Leandro.

Every budget is a statement of values.

What should be the priority for taxpayer dollars?

• Fully funding public schools that serve every child?

• Expanding private school choice through vouchers?

• Some combination of both?

These are questions that deserve an honest community conversation rather than partisan talking points.

What do you think?

Should more state funding be directed toward public schools, private school vouchers, or both?

— Gaston County Community Talk Editorial



— Gaston County Community Talk Editorial