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Board member urges state accountability for school vouchers, says reported majority went to private-school students
Summary
Board member Ginger Carter told the Johnson City Board of Education that state legislators told her voucher recipients cannot be tracked and said reports indicate more than 60% of vouchers went to students already attending private schools. She urged constituents to question legislators about tracking and per-student funding.
At the close of the Johnson City Board of Education meeting, board member Ginger Carter urged community members to press state legislators for accountability on the state's education voucher program, saying she was told by legislators that vouchers cannot be tracked.
"The reality, apparently, from our state legislators is that [vouchers] cannot be tracked," Carter said, adding that she had asked legislators and was told they cannot give an accounting of where voucher funds are used. Carter said it had been reported that "over 60% of those vouchers went to kids already in private schools" and said she was being conservative in her estimate.
Carter recommended constituents ask two questions of legislators: where voucher money went and whether per-pupil voucher funding exceeds the money per public-school student. "It is reported that the money per voucher student is more than the money going per student in public education," she said, and urged voters to raise the issue with legislators ahead of the 2026 election.
Carter framed her remarks as a request for accountability and said she had not received contrary answers when she asked legislators directly. Her comments were presented as her perspective and based on what she reported hearing from legislative sources and media reports; the board did not take formal action on vouchers during the meeting.
