Author: R. Alan Harrop, Ph.D.
In Part I of this article, I summarized the advantages of homeschools over public schools in North Carolina as parents attempt to exercise their right to choose how their children are educated. While homeschools have several advantages for families they also present significant financial challenges. I will address some of the realities of operating a homeschool and what should be done to help make the homeschool option more viable. For full disclosure, I have experience with public, private, charter and operating a homeschool as I raised my three children, all of whom now have families of their own. My youngest daughter is presently homeschooling her two daughters ages 7 and 10. My experience with school choice is somewhat unique.
In 2024-2025, the state government of North Carolina spent $14,503 per pupil in public schools for a total of $11.1 billion, 40% of the state budget. When you add to that amount what federal and local governments spend, the total is $17.8 billion. Since there are now about 180,000 homeschooled children (which is over 10% of all school aged children), this theoretically should represent a minimum savings of $1.8 billion per year. The savings comes from not only requiring fewer teachers and school supplies, but also from needing smaller and fewer public schools. At an average of one teacher per fifteen students, which is the average ratio in the public schools, the state is needing 12,000 fewer teachers due to homeschooling!
Now let’s examine the economic impact on families that elect to homeschool. First, there is the necessity of only one parent income, which is the exception nowadays where two parent incomes are the norm. This loss of income over the entire K-12 years of schooling is substantial to say the least, not only affecting current standard of living but future retirement. The dramatic growth of homeschooling over the past 25 years has provided a market for a wide range of homeschooling resource materials. They do come with a substantial cost that must be met by the homeschooling parents. There is a necessity for tutoring expenses especially as the children grow older and are taking more technical courses such as science, geometry, and calculus. In addition, many homeschooling parents incorporate museum trips, nature excursions, music lessons, sports/fitness activities all of which require additional expenditures.
Now in North Carolina, there exists a school voucher program called the Opportunity Scholarship Program that assists parents who send their children to private schools. The annual awards range from approximately $3,000 to $7,700 per year. Unfortunately, there is the typical socialist structure where lower income families receive the highest awards and the harder working families with higher incomes receive less. What do the homeschooling families receive you might ask? Nothing, nada, zilch! When I have asked various elected representatives why this obvious unfairness exists, I am usually told that the homeschooling parents do not want any financial assistance ostensibly because they do not want any interference in how they conduct their homeschools due to bureaucratic red tape and controls. Now this objection may reflect the concern of some homeschooling parents, but I have never been shown any data that indicates it reflects the view of the majority of homeschooling parents. Actually, there is a very simple solution to this concern, assuming it is valid and reflects the majority of homeschooling parents, and that is to (1) make any voucher program voluntary, and (2) to limit any bureaucratic controls. Private schools seem to operate acceptably under current conditions and rules, so why not homeschools?
The bottom line is that homeschools represent freedom of choice that must be respected. This respect should ensure that they receive the benefits allocated to other school choices. Let’s hope we do not have to wait for a major lawsuit to correct a problem that should be obvious to all right-thinking individuals.