Ummm...the rest of that $12K still goes to the schools. And $5,200 isn't getting you into good private schools. It might get you into one of those "academies" that closes a week before the first day of school throwing hundreds of kids BACK into the public system...minus the $5,200 that disappeared down a rabbit hole. In North Carolina private schools accepting vouchers don't need licensed teachers. They don't have to meet any state curricular standards. They don't even need to be accredited by ANY governing body. One closed a few years ago in the middle of the year...just - boom - gone. They dumped 150 kids back int the public school system...and those students had to be placed. Have you ever heard of a public school closing in the middle of the year and dumping the kids on private schools?
As I stated earlier, you give a kid $5,200 to strike out on their own...any school that accepts one has to accept EVERY OTHER STUDENT who shows up at their door with that voucher. Period. They have to waive the rest of their tuition for any children who don't have the means to pay more. They must address any disablilities of those children as required by law. They can't kick a student younger than 16 out without providing for a corresponding educational environment at THEIR expense. They must administer and report the results of ALL state and local testing. In other words, if they want public money they are subject to exactly the same criteria and constraints placed on public schools. Why would you have a problem with that?
I could make a joke about how Covid impacted public schools in my neck of the woods, but I won't.
In any event:
View the 2022-23 directory of private schools with the highest tuition cost in Iowa. Read about top schools like: Jn Andrews Christian Academy, Pocahontas Catholic School and St. Pauls Lutheran School.
www.privateschoolreview.com
So, it probably depends a bit what level of school we're talking about (elementary v high school), but $5200 would appear to be the average tuition. And recognize that, just like the public schools, private schools get cross-subsidies of their own beyond tuition (eg, from alumni donations, affiliated churches, etc.). For that reason, I don't think it's quite so simple to say that the extra subsidy won't get you into a good private school, because their tuitions are really just like college tuitions -- ie, sticker prices, with diffential pricing among attendees via scholarships and other background subsidies that can be driven by a lot of factors like academics, athletics, or the institution's mission.
Now obviously, any program should be accompanied by accreditation and financial stability standards for the schools - if NC was really stupid enough not to have that, well, shame on them, or at least, if fraud has occurred, go get the money. But as to your "all comers" argument, I think you're missing the point of these programs - they are by no means a substitute for public education, they are (or should be) an option in a hopefully small number of places where it's not working. BTW, as to disabilities, this is obviously a sensitive issue (and has been to me personally), but you might be surprised at the ability of many private schools to accommodate students with disabilities, including through programs specifically designed for that purpose.