By Chris Cowperthwaite
NBC17

A bill is being introduced in the North Carolina State Senate aimed at curbing future reassignment plans involving so-called “community schools.”

Republican Senator Neal Hunt from Wake County is sponsoring the bill for the second year in a row.

If approved, the bill would force school districts to offer private school vouchers to families of reassigned students who live within a mile and a half of their original school.

“The idea behind that is of course convenience — if you live in the neighborhood, you like to go to that school,” said Hunt.  “Also it would save the busing all the way across the county or wherever you have to go.  And as a corollary to that, I suggest you take that money we save on busing and get it to teachers for merit pay and differential pay.”

If it passes, the bill would probably have a major impact on any future reassignment plans.

“It would be impossible,” said Wake County School Board member Ron Margiotta.  “The school system would lose all of their dollars.  They’d be unwilling to give up their dollars; they do not want to lose students to the private schools.”

That’s a big “if,” though; the bill never made it out of committee last year, and Hunt isn’t optimistic that it will be any different in 2009.

The voucher issue has always been a controversial topic on its own, and to tack it onto another controversial issue like reassignment makes it pretty tough to get a lot of support.

Hunt said he thinks the recent reassignment battles in Wake County could make things a little more interesting this year, though.

“I think it’s probably going to help it, because the neighborhoods are so fired up about that issue that I think it might get a little traction this time,” said Hunt.

More from Ron Margiotta: