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:

DURHAM – Republican gubernatorial candidate Pat McCrory avoided a wholesale endorsement of school vouchers at an appearance Tuesday but said he favors more choices, including tax credits for people who home-school their children.

Support for school vouchers in North Carolina remains mixed, with no majority of respondents in the latest Elon University Poll showing a strong inclination either for or against such a program.
 
The poll, conducted Sept. 29 – Oct. 2 , surveyed 477 North Carolina residents and has a margin of error of 4.6 percentage points. The sample is of the population in general, with numbers that include both landlines and cellular phones, and does not restrict respondents by their voter eligibility or likelihood of voting in an election.
 
The survey concentrated on two issues – public education and stem cell research – that have received recent attention from candidates running for governor in the fall elections.
 
When asked whether they agree or disagree that parents who choose to educate their children in private or religious schools should receive a voucher from the state for their child’s education, respondents indicated the following:
 
Disagree or strongly disagree with use of vouchers: 49.1%
Agree or strongly agree with use of vouchers: 41.5%
The issue doesn’t affect me: 1.9%
Don’t know or refused to answer: 7.4%
 
When asked to gauge the impact of a voucher program on public schools, poll respondents indicated the following:
 
School vouchers will take money out of the public school system, thus weakening the public school system: 46%
 
School vouchers will encourage competition among schools, thus strengthening the public school system: 41%
 
Respondents were also asked about funding equity in local public school systems.  When levels of funding for North Carolina education are unequal across districts, 78% of respondents agree that the state should give money to those districts to ensure that all school districts spend about the same amount for each student.  Thirteen percent did not agree that the state should give money and 9% of respondents didn’t know.
 
Forty-eight percent of respondents supported state involvement in poor performing districts, while 41% indicated that the state should not be involved.  Ten percent of respondents didn’t know whether the state should take over schools.
 
“North Carolinians obviously prefer a strong state presence in education, which may explain the lack of enthusiasm for vouchers,” said Hunter Bacot, director of the Elon University Poll.
 
STEM CELL RESEARCH

The poll included three questions about stem cell research. Respondents were asked the following question (selection choices enclosed in brackets were alternated randomly):
 
How clear are you, personally, on the difference between stem cells that come from human embryos; stem cells that come from adults; and stem cells that come from other sources, such as an umbilical cord?  Are you [not at all clear, not real clear, clear, or very clear]?

Not at all clear: 11.6%
Not real clear: 25.2%
Clear: 35.4%
Very Clear: 24.4%
Don’t Know: 2.6%
 
A majority of North Carolinians (53%) support medical research that uses stem cells from human embryos, while 31% opposed or strongly opposed medical research that uses stem cells from human embryos.  Eleven percent of respondents indicated that they didn’t know.
 
On the topic of funding, 51% of respondents said they support or strongly support public funding for stem cell research. Six percent of respondents supported some stem cell research, but not all, and one out of every 10 respondents indicated they don’t know how they feel about public funding.

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. – Two candidates for North Carolina governor disagreed less with each other than with their common rival who wasn’t on the podium.

Republican Pat McCrory and Libertarian Mike Munger agreed on many issues related to education, transportation and ethics reforms during their televised forum Wednesday night at the University of North Carolina studios.

Democrat Beverly Perdue declined to participate in the debate and received criticism for her views and her absence.

Munger and McCrory agreed that the state’s cap on charter schools should be lifted. Both said they supported private school vouchers, although Munger wants a broad program and McCrory more targeted to special needs students.

On capital punishment, Munger said he would commute the sentences of everyone on death row to life in prison. McCrory wants executions to resume.