NC State Board of Education member labels school choice bill as "white flight"
NC State Board of Education member James Ford made the remark on Twitter
North Carolina State Board of Education member labeled a bill expanding school choice in the state as “white flight” in a tweet last week.
The “white flight” reference was made in response to a tweet by Marcus Brandon, a former Democrat legislator-turned-school-choice advocate.
Here is the set of tweets:
Brandon held his own when a third person jumped into the conversation.
Earlier this month Ford tweeted about bills trying to curb indoctrination and the use of Critical Race Theory in schools, calling such measures "white comfort" bills.
Ford became upset when I retweeted his "white comfort" tweet while identifying him as an NC State Board of Education member.
Ford continued tweeting, this time using his arguably racist "white comfort" label to attack Texas Governor Greg Abbott while at the same time accusing him of pardoning a murderer.
Ford’s opposition to school choice is not held by the majority of Black families.
In 2022, The American Federation for Children released its fifth annual National School Choice Poll of 1,200 likely November 2020 voters. It showed 67% of voters support school choice, an increase of 4 percentage points compared to the 2018 National School Choice Poll.
The poll showed strong support across all demographics:
Latinos: 73%
Whites: 68%
African Americans: 67%
Millennials: 75%
Parents and grandparents: 72%
Rural/Exurban Voters: 68%
Suburban Voters: 64%
Republicans: 80%
Independents: 69%
Democrats: 56%
A new poll from EdChoice found 78% of black parents support education savings accounts (ESAs).
Another recent poll by the John Locke Foundation found over 67% of those polled support the state’s Opportunity Scholarship Program, which is expanded in the bills Ford called “white flight.”
But support for school choice programs like the Opportunity Scholarship Program goes back to years before the pandemic hit.
A 2016 poll released by Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina and the American Federation for Children, found Black parents in North Carolina want lawmakers to take a “both/and approach.”
Moreover, Black families overwhelmingly wanted more choice, per the top line results:
More than 8 in 10 [85%] African-American voters believe state lawmakers must do more to expand educational options for families in our state,” while just “7% think state government is doing enough.”
Strong support for state-funded scholarships crosses the ideological spectrum with 65% of liberals, 60% of moderates, and 81% of conservatives wanting “parents to be able to use state-funded scholarships” to “choose the K-12 school their child attends.”
A strong majority (58%) view North Carolina’s Opportunity Scholarship program favorably, with positive perceptions increasing as household income decreases.
Despite comprising only 22 percent of North Carolina’s population, African-Americans “account for nearly 40 percent of all Opportunity Scholarship applicants.”
Nearly two-thirds (65%) of all those polled, and a staggering 72% of parents of school-aged children, would apply for a scholarship if eligible.
Even 31% of those who object to the scholarships as a matter of policy would apply for one if they met the eligibility requirements.
Supporting school choice programs increases the voter appeal of candidates as “65% of African-American voters would be more likely to support a candidate who favors giving parents expanded educational options.” Only 14% of respondents say such a position would lessen their support for a candidate.
More To The Story
Ford has a history of issuing controversial tweets.
Also, “White Supremacy” is held together by Poor Whites no one cares about, per Ford.
Vaccine hesitancy is white supremacy.
And parents are too dumb to understand “sophisticated” arguments supporting Critical Race Theory.
He’s also tied in Black Liberation Theology in defence of Critical Race Theory.
During the George Floyd riots, he used the moment to shill for his own education company.
During his tenure, NC State Superintendent Mark Johnson took issue with one of Ford’s tweets as being racist. The tweet equated swing and moderate voters to “white supremacy” and also included masked profanity.
He’s also attacked Catherine Truitt, the current state superintendent in North Carolina.
Not a single board member has called Ford out for his tweeting habits.