Carolina Journal’s Dan Way reports on the state House Education Committee’s approval of HB 944 — which would authorize tax dollars for private school vouchers.

Although the bill survived its first hurdle by a tight 27-21 vote, some Democrat legislators voiced strong opposition:

The measure touched off a firestorm among committee Democrats opposed to school competition. Supporters of the measure said it offered students an opportunity to leave public schools that were not a good fit for them.

“This money will diminish what we can do. … And it ultimately will dismantle public schools, and that’s really the underlying motive here,” Rep. Alma Adams, D-Guilford, said during Education Committee debate.

“This is a very bad bill. Even if parents have this opportunity that we’re talking about, they can make that choice, if they don’t have the dollars in their pocket to put with that [grant] to make the difference, that child will not have an opportunity. We need to be honest and up front about that,” Adams said.

JLF education studies director Terry Stoops analyzes:

“Opponents of House Bill 944 opted for the ‘kitchen sink’ approach to the debate. In the end, however, their wildly creative fear mongering did little to sway the opinion of the majority of the committee….Despite the fact that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that vouchers are constitutional, opponents of House Bill 944 insisted that the legislation violated the separation of church and state,” Stoops said. “This was one of many instances of opponents playing fast and loose with the facts in an attempt to sway undecided Republicans to their camp.”

Kinda like the childhood road trips alongside your little sister. By the same token, Stoops acknowledges the bill still has a long way to go, given the tight committee vote.