5 Things to Know: Cooper Vetoes Private School Voucher Bill

Cooper Vetoes Private School Voucher Bill

Gov. Roy Cooper held a press conference on Friday to publicly announce his veto of House Bill 10, named the Require ICE Cooperation & Budget Adjustments bill.

Cooper brought education and business leaders to speak on the impact the bill would have — and could still have if the veto is overturned — on the state’s public schools by further prioritizing the private school voucher program. If the bill is passed into law, it would send hundreds of millions more in taxpayer dollars toward vouchers for private schools, using money that could be utilized by underfunded public schools.

“This bill takes public taxpayer dollars from the public schools and gives it to private school vouchers that will be used by wealthy families,” Cooper said on Friday. “Studies show that private school vouchers do not improve student performance, but we won’t know with North Carolina’s voucher scheme because it has the least accountability in the country. All public schools will be hurt by the legislature wasting its planned $4 billion of the public’s money over the next decade with rural public schools being hurt the worst. This money should be used to improve our public schools by raising teacher pay and investing in public school students.”

Wendi Craven, a Republican and member of the Burke County Board of Education, also spoke at Friday’s press conference.

“I am an educator first and a Republican second,” she said. “Education is the cornerstone of our nation and once it fails this country fails. Instead of continuing to divide and conquer, which shows a complete lack of leadership, legislators should support public education.”

The bill has also faced opposition from local immigration advocates and Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden due to its mandate that all North Carolina sheriffs cooperate with ICE. The bill would force local sheriffs to hold undocumented detainees for up to 48 hours while ICE verifies their immigration status.

McFadden’s office sent out a release earlier this month suggesting that ICE utilize existing federal statutes rather than make sheriffs’ offices responsible for enforcing federal law, costing taxpayers $181 per each day that each detainee is held.

“Sheriff McFadden believes the bill undermines the authority of sheriffs and prevents local communities from setting policies that reflect the will of the voters who elected them,” read the release. “The sheriff strongly supports the idea that each county, through its elected sheriff, should have the power to decide, within the bounds of the law, how much local law enforcement cooperates with federal immigration authorities.”

Lawsuits Filed Against Local Church Following Sex Abuse Convictions

Attorneys for young victims who were sexually abused by a youth leader at MorningStar Fellowship Church in Fort Mill, South Carolina, announced three lawsuits against the alleged abuser, Erickson Lee, who pleaded guilty to multiple child sex crimes last week. Lee who was also an officer with the Cornelius Police Department until his arrest in 2023.

The suits also name Morningstar, its founder and senior pastor Richard Joyner, its former church vice president David Yarnes, former head of security Douglas Lee, Chase Portello and others they say turned a blind eye to years of exploitation and abuse.

The attorneys have also alleged there were multiple instances of sexual assault that occurred prior to the current series of events that was never reported to law enforcement and supposedly “handled in house,” according to a press release on Monday.

“The simple fact is that the leaders of MorningStar Fellowship Church not only failed to protect these young victims, they enabled and protected their abuser even after witnessing much of the abuse firsthand,” stated Randy Hood, one of the victims’ attorneys. “They had the chance to do the right thing on multiple occasions but, instead, tried to sweep it under the rug with at least one of them trying to help Lee try and intimidate his young victims.”

Queen City Nerve will have further reporting on this case in the weeks to come.

Freedom Communities Opens Resource Center on Westside Corridor

The city of Charlotte and Freedom Communities hosted a ribbon cutting on Monday to celebrate the opening of the Freedom Business Collective (FBC), a new resource for entrepreneurs, small business owners and job seekers in west Charlotte.

“The launch of Freedom Business Collective is a crucial step in building a more inclusive and thriving Charlotte,” said Erin Gillespie, executive program manager for Corridors of Opportunity. “This hub represents our commitment to empowering entrepreneurs and residents, ensuring that all corners of our city have the tools and resources needed to succeed. It’s a transformative moment for our city, and I’m thrilled to see this initiative’s positive impact on the Freedom Drive/Wilkinson Boulevard corridor.”

The newly renovated space will provide affordable office spaces, business coaching, networking opportunities, workshops and training programs tailored to the unique needs of west Charlotte’s residents and businesses.

Partner organizations such as Do Greater Charlotte, The Boost Pad and ASPIRE Community Capital will collaborate to provide support and programming through the center, which officially opened on Wednesday at 1525 Enderly Road.

Morrow Continues Campaign of Misinformation with Offensive Tweet

Republican candidate for NC Department of Public Instruction Superintendent Michelle Morrow continued her campaign of hate and misinformation with a tweet on Monday night that makes unfounded and harmful claims about LGBTQ+ people.

“Mo Green has stated that the Parental Bill of Rights ‘Does more harm than good’ and he states he is ‘proudly endorsed’ by Equality NC, whose mission statement is to promote LGBTQ+ power,” Morrow wrote. “NEWSFLASH…the ‘+’ includes PEDOPH*L*A!! Mo Green will NOT keep our children safe!”

To be clear, the claim is 100% false, but is part of a larger movement by anti-LGBTQ extremists to connect any non-straight sexual orientation to sex crime for the purpose of criminalizing the people who identify differently from them.

Atrium Health to Cancel Judgment Liens Due to Medical Debt

Advocate Health, the nation’s third-largest nonprofit health system and parent company to Atrium Health, announced Thursday that it will begin canceling all judgment liens previously placed on homes and real estate as part of its efforts to collect unpaid medical bills. A judgment lien allows debt collectors to garnish any money from the sale of a home or property from debtors who are selling.

The company will also forgive the outstanding debts associated with those liens. According to a release sent out by the health system on Thursday, “This move is part of a multi-year initiative to overhaul the system’s approach to medical debt.” In 2022, the same year Atrium Health merged with Advocate Aurora Health to form the new company, it announced it would no longer file lawsuits nor seek new liens or judgments as part of its collection efforts.