Many people believe buying a home requires a large down payment and years of saving, but that's not always the case. Across the country, there are programs designed to help first-time homebuyers take the next step toward home ownership.
Some of these programs offer down payment assistance or grant funding that may help cover part of the upfront cost of purchasing a home. Grants are especially helpful because they generally do not have to be repaid. There are also organizations that provide homebuyer education, financial counseling, and guidance to help individuals understand the home buying process before they begin. The goal is simple: to help more families become informed and prepared for home ownership. If owning a home is something you've been thinking about, start by visiting Tools4Homeownership.com.
This message is brought to you by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling's Paving the Way Forward initiative. It's 5.05 and welcome in to a Tuesday edition of the Carolina Journal News Hour on Charlotte's FM News Talk, 107.9 FM, WBT. I'm Nick Craig. Good morning to you. A Statesville pastor and his family took center stage at a White House event yesterday, August the 24th, as President Donald Trump marked the start of the school year by touting what he called, quote, the largest ever expansion of school choice in American history.
Pastor Caleb Griffith, his wife Jocelyn, and their five children joined the president at the Rose Garden event alongside U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon. Two of Griffith's children came to the family through foster care. One has autism and another has developmental delays, according to the family. The children attend Cornerstone Christian Academy in Statesville with help from North Carolina's Opportunity Scholarship Program.
That program now serves nearly 107,000 students across the state of North Carolina. Speaking from the podium at the Rose Garden yesterday, Griffith said, quote, we are blessed to be from a state that offers school choice. I have personally seen the benefit of the Opportunity Scholarship Program for my family and the school my children attend, Cornerstone Christian Academy. Griffith said that the new federal education freedom tax credit would also go further for his family, saying from the podium, because of you, Mr. President and Secretary McMahon, the Education Freedom Tax Credit will give my children access to the services that they need to be successful in the most fundamental years of their lives.
Griffith went on to say, we only get one chance to educate our children, and our children are the future of America. The Bible says to train up a child in the way that he should go, and that's the parents. This allows the parents to do just that. Trump introduced the family after telling the audience, We want every parent to have the power to send their child to a high-quality school that shares their values. North Carolina formally opted into the federal tax credit program on June the 3rd when the state senate vetoed 30 to 19 or voted 30 to 19 excuse me to override Governor Josh Stein's veto of House Bill 87.
The House vote there was 73 to 46 two weeks earlier. 31 states up to this point have opted in or announced plans to do so, according to the American Federation for Children. For those that are not super familiar with this program, we've touched on it a couple of times here since the North Carolina General Assembly worked through it. The program offers a dollar-for-dollar dollar federal tax credit of up to $1,700 for donations to what are called scholarship-granting organizations. This will begin in January of next year.
Those scholarships can cover tuition, tutoring, special education therapies, and transfer. Transportation for families earning up to 300% of the area median income. Nearly 1.7 million North Carolina students, which equates to about 93%, would qualify for scholarships under the program, according to analysis from the American Federation for Children, as the Carolina Journal reported in July. Education Secretary Linda McMahon continued to highlight the federal program, saying during the event at the White House, through the Education Federal Tax Credit, President Trump has delivered the largest national expansion of education freedom in history. It's no surprise that over half of our nation's states, both red and blue, have raced to this historic choice option, benefiting families whether their children attends public or private schools.
She went on to add, children belong to their parents, not the federal government. Trump pointed to other school choice measures in the tax law passed last year, including a doubling of the annual 529 savings account withdrawals for K through 12 expenses to nearly $20,000 effective this year, and an expansion allowing families to spend 529 funds on home school costs for the first time. Questions remain about the tax credit rollout in North Carolina. The North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority is the group that will be responsible for maintaining the state's list of approved scholarship granting organizations, and will be having to submit that information to the United States Treasury Department for the proper program to play out. The governor has said that he wanted to steer donations towards public school organizations, though the Treasury guidance previewed in June say that states cannot impose stricter requirements than federal law.
Treasury proposed regulations are expected by the end of September. Donations will become creditable starting in January when we flip the calendar over to 2027. That's when North Carolina families like the Griffiths could begin seeing this program, this program's first scholarship and its benefits for the first time. We have got a full copy of the event that took place at the Rose Garden, took place at the Rose Garden yesterday in Washington, D.C. We, of course, will continue our coverage on this federal tax program, school choice, the opportunity scholarship program, and many other education topics across the state of North Carolina.
You can get those details over on our website this morning. CarolinaJournal.com. Look for the story with the headline: Statesville Family Featured at Trump White House School Choice event. In some other news that we are tracking across North Carolina this morning, two Lenore County women have pleaded guilty to mail fraud in a case the United States Attorney's Office describes as more than $187,000 worth of a COVID fraud scheme. Each of the women faces up to 30 years in prison and $1 million in fines when they are sentenced, according to a news release on Monday.
Kendra Edmondson, who is 39 years old, and Brittany Dreyer, who is 35, each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud. The two women and others defrauded the federal government by submitting a fraudulent North Carolina housing opportunities and prevention of eviction loan applications for emergency rental assistance during COVID-19, according to the federal news release. The release says in part, quote, as part of the scheme, the defendants and their associates submitted fictitious tenant lease agreements for multiple Lenore County properties to support those applications. U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle said these two low-down fraudsters chose to milk the system by lining their pockets while hardworking taxpayers rolled up their sleeves during the pandemic.
Do what your parents taught you. Don't steal. Cheaters never win. Edmondson and Dreyer and others submitted 23 fraudulent applications between November of 2020 and December of 2021. According to the federal release, they collected more than $187,000 in federal government housing funds that essentially were used for their own personal benefits.
As most of the applications, if not all of them, were fraudulent in nature and there was nobody being evicted, no individuals being helped with housing. The NC HOPE program secured funding from the federal coronavirus aid relief and emergency security act of March 2020. That was the CARE Act and it was the CARES Act, excuse me, and it was aimed to quote provide emergency financial assistance to millions of Americans suffering economically from the COVID-19 pandemic. It authorized $5 billion in what are called community development blocks. Block grant programs and gave states and local governments the flexibility to prevent, prepare for, or respond to the pandemic.
The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, no surprise there, HUD dealt with some of these housing-related loans. The North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency used Care Act money to quote: help North Carolina renters remain in their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic by preventing evictions and the loss of utility services. NC Hope used an initial $51.5 million in those community development block grant funds. For things like housing and utility assistance. The CARES Act also provided coronavirus relief fund money to North Carolina, including an additional $66 million for NC Hope's administrative costs.
According to SBI Director Chip Hawley, who spoke in this news release or had comments in this news release, he said, This case reflects the strength of our partnership with the U.S. Attorney Off the U.S. Attorney's Office and HUD's Inspector General in fighting fraud, waste, and abuse that hurts our most vulnerable citizens. Hawley thanked the U.S. Marshals and the Kinston Police Department, saying that we will continue to aggressively target those who steal from hardworking taxpayer dollars.
For the two women who have pled guilty in this case, Kendra Edmondson and Brittany Dreyer, they could be facing up to 30 years in prison, each of them, and $1 million worth of fines when they are sentenced. We will be keeping an eye on that sentencing date, and we'll provide you an update when it is relevant over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com. And as always, right here on the Carolina Journal NewsHour. For many people, renting is a convenient option. It offers flexibility and may require less responsibility for maintenance.
But owning a home can offer a different set of long-term benefits. Instead of paying rent to a landlord each month, homeowners are investing in a property that can potentially increase in value over time. That means your home may become an asset as you continue to live in it. Home ownership can also provide more control over your living space, from decorating to renovations that really fit your lifestyle. And here's something that many people don't realize: there are education programs and financial assistance options available for first-time homebuyers.
Some of these programs even offer grant funding that may help cover part of the upfront cost, and grants typically don't have to be repaid. That's why learning about home ownership options can be an important step toward making the best decision for you and your family. To learn more, visit toolsforhomeownership.com. Oh. Hey, I've got the campaign brief ready, built from last quarter's data and the competitive landscape.
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Somewhere with a lot more tabs open. Create your first Monday agent in minutes at monday.com. It's 5:21. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, Charlotte's FM News Talk, 107.9 FM, WBT. We've got some more tariff news this morning as that continues to impact businesses not only across the entirety of the United States, but here in North Carolina.
The Carolina Journal recently sat down with Captive Air. The North Carolina company is one of the leading manufacturers of commercial kitchen ventilation system. And they report that they've incurred nearly $15 million in tariff costs since the April 2nd, 2025 Liberation Day tariffs. That's when President Donald Trump announced a universal 10% tariff on all imported goods. While the business says they've done well overall, they say that it shows how these costs could prove detrimental to smaller and less successful businesses.
Robert Luddy, who is the president of the United States, Of Captive Air told the Carolina Journal, quote, We didn't really consider it to be Liberation Day. I decided early on that we would not pass along any tariff costs to our customers. Due to its decision not to pass along those costs to its customers, but rather absorb them, Captive Air has not seen a decrease in sales. In fact, according to Luddy, it has seen an increase as its competitors are raising prices across the board. Luddy told the Carolina Journal, one thing to keep in mind with tariffs is they raise costs, and as costs increase, you will have a decrease in demand.
In 2026, Captive Air celebrates 50 years of producing kitchen ventilation systems and modern HVAC package units that deliver outside clean air and modular performance for customers across North Carolina, excuse me, North America, the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America. Luddy went on to say that Captive Air is in a very strong position, saying we're financially very strong. For most businesses, they cannot absorb the tariffs. Their margins are low and their financial capacities are not as strong. Tariffs are devastating to economic growth, particularly to small businesses and all emerging businesses.
But Captive Air has not always been in such a strong position. 30 years ago, it was a much smaller company, according to Luddy. He said, Now we are a major company in the industry. Spawning and growing a company, I think many people don't realize it takes decades. For most businesses, it takes a very long period of time to reach any sort of strong financial health.
So anything that interferes, whether it's higher taxes, more regulation or tariffs, it is a major negative for long-term economic growth. Back on March the 5th of this year, Captive Air filed a lawsuit in the Court of International Trade seeking to recover the tariffs that it has already paid. The company, as I noted, has incurred about $15 million in the first year after the April 2nd, 2025 date when those widesweeping tariffs were announced by President Donald Trump. Luddy told the Carolina Journal it's going to be a long, slow process to get those tariffs back. noting that Captive Air is primarily all US manufacturing except for some international components that are purchased.
So anything that violates free trade violates our ability to be competitive and to be an exporter. The primary impact of the tariffs on Cap d'Ever have been on the net profit margin, with the president of the company and Robert Luddy telling the Carolina Journal, so the main impact would be adverse impact to profit. But because we haven't raised our prices, our customers continue to reward us with orders.
So we continue to grow as a company. Where we to manufacture or subcontract manufacture the products we buy abroad, they would cost more money in all cases than the tariff product that we currently buy, making everything in America is not necessarily a solution. Luddy also argues that the tariffs are always harmful to the consumers and if they weren't, everything would be manufactured domestically. He said we will always need our international companies and countries because of comparative advantages. Carolina Journal asked Luddy what he would say to President Donald Trump's about the President Trump about the tariffs and their impact on American businesses.
Luddy pretty bluntly said, I would say America was built on free trade, and comparative advantage is an economic law which will never change. He went on to tell the Carolina Journal, and we are very reliant on countries and companies around the world to produce the highest quality products in the U.S. at the best price. Free trade is the cornerstone of America. Unilaterally, free trade is the best answer.
It will always be the best answer, and there is no dispute as to material facts. Luddy said that exceptionalism in America is all about freedom and that freedom produces incredible results, telling the Carolina Journal: individuals can produce to their maximum capabilities based on their God-given talents. And when you interfere with that, when you have fewer goods purchased, you have less innovation and less creativity, the government should do everything possible to provide the maximum freedom consistent with fair and justice for all citizens. We have covered in great detail now for more than a year and a half the impacts that tariffs continue to have across the nation. And of course, highlighting whenever we have the opportunity, the impacts here in North Carolina, as it has been a major problem for many of our large businesses and industries, one of the areas that we continue to check in on.
Of course, is the agricultural industry, which is North Carolina still amazingly North Carolina's largest business, whether it's the cost of fertilizer or equipment and equipment parts for many of the industrial-sized pieces of farm equipment, that industry has felt the impacts there well.
Now, discussing some of these details with Captive Air, a North Carolina-based company that produces commercial kitchen ventilation systems in and around the HVAC space, the impact is felt abroad and wide. You can read more on Captive Air. We actually have a video of this as well with some of the comments there from the president of Captive Air, Robert Luddy. Those details are available this morning over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com. Look for the story with the headline: Captive Air President says tariffs hurting small businesses.
Have you ever thought about the difference between paying rent and owning a home? When you rent, your monthly payment helps cover the cost of living there, but it usually doesn't build anything for your future. Home ownership is different. Each payment you make on a home may help build equity, which is the value you own in the property over time. As that equity grows, it can become a financial asset that may support your long-term goals.
Owning a home can also provide stability. You have a place that's yours where you can build memories, establish roots, and truly make the space your own. And the good news is that many people are surprised to learn there are programs designed to help first-time homebuyers get started, including grants and assistance programs that may help with down payments or closing costs. Learning about your options is the first step toward making an informed decision about your future. Visit toolsforhomeownership.com.
Hey, I've got the campaign brief ready, built from last quarter's data and the competitive landscape. Approved? Oh, agents, where would we be without you?
Somewhere with a lot more tabs open. Create your first Monday agent in minutes at monday.com. Um It's 5.36. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, Charlotte's FM News Talk, 107.9 FM. WBT, I'm Nick Craig.
Good Tuesday morning to you. Over the last couple of weeks and for the next couple of months, it is going to be very dull in the North Carolina General Assembly. As lawmakers, most of them are back in their districts, as the entirety of the North Carolina House and Senate will be on ballots coming up here as early voting kicks off in middle October. Election Day rolling through in early November.
Some surprising news out of the North Carolina General Assembly early this week. Senator Bobby Hoenig, a Republican in the North Carolina Senate, has announced he is resigning or retiring from the North Carolina General Assembly. He walks through some of those details this morning. Andrew Pomerantz, CarolinaJournal.com. Andrew, our General Assembly coverage is essentially kind of flown to a trickle at this point as lawmakers really aren't acting out a whole lot.
Sure, this caught you, like many others, like a total surprise. Yes, hey, Nick, good morning. Happy Tuesday. It's been a slow couple of weeks, like you mentioned, down the General Assembly now that they have broken. All the way until after the election is when we're hearing that they will next take up votes.
And so a number of Things happening, but outside the legislature, as they are in their districts, currently, you know, campaigning for what is going to become, you know, a really consequential election this November with everyone on the ballot. But this news coming out early Monday morning, about 8:30 this morning, we heard rumors that this was happening in a post on Facebook, Senator Hannig, posted that he was resigning or stepping aside from the General Assembly effective immediately.
So, you know, he was not running for reelection this upcoming November. He had been on the ballot for the Congressional District 1 primary before Lori Buchholt ended up winning that election. He finished third in that race. And so he said he was no longer running for the Senate. You know, he was on that ballot, cannot be on both ballots here in North Carolina.
And so it was kind of in a flux. And we knew that he was stepping aside at the end of the year. And he had been pretty consequential in this past legislative session, short session. He had been a pretty vocal voice on a lot of issues, really affecting Northeastern North Carolina.
Some could say, you know, the loudest voice in the room when it came to Northeastern North Carolina. Big, bold personality. Bold suits always, and so a presence around the General Assembly. But as of this morning, a really surprising development for a lot of folks because this is not something that had to happen right now, could happen a month ago, could happen in January if he served out his term. As we do expect a few more votes to happen before the new General Assembly is sworn in in January.
And so a bit of a surprise this morning, but not changing too much down the General Assembly this time of year. Yeah, that's a great point there, Andrew, highlighting a couple of things there, including the fact that because he decided to run in that Republican primary for Congressional District 1, he had to pick or choose, either run in that or run for re-election in the North Carolina General Assembly, deciding to run in that GOP for CD1. But the timing of this, of course, is the very interesting part of this. Lawmakers have been inactive now over the last couple of weeks. Hoenig would have remained in his seat until the end of the calendar year until new lawmakers were sworn in in early parts of January next year.
In this public post on social media, did Senator Hoenig give any reason as to why he decided to do this now? Or is it a lot of rumor and speculation that you're hearing around Raleigh? Yeah, he did not. And it's been mainly speculation here in Raleigh about why this decision was maybe made. You know, in his statement, he comes out, he thanks his supporters, his constituents, his family, his friends, and his fellow lawmakers.
Someone who is a presence, like I mentioned, down at the General Assembly, so someone who has a lot of friends that way, and took the time to say thank you this morning and wrote that he was proud of all the things that he had accomplished over the past 10 years. Had started in the House back in 2016 before moving over to the Senate in 2022. And so wrapping up his first full Senate term there. And so he didn't give any indication of why he was stepping down at this time. And then a few minutes later, around 9:30 this morning, Senator Leader Phil Berger put out a statement just saying, I want to thank Bobby for his service to North Carolina Senate and District 1.
I wish him well in retirement and nothing further. And so speaking with people around the building this morning, I think a little bit of shock for everyone as this was maybe a decision that was unexpected, especially this time of year. And again, on a Monday, Monday, where not much else was going on. There's no reason for him to be in Raleigh this week. In a official letter that he turned in into Senate staff announcing his resignation, he mentions that he has other opportunities that require him to step aside from the Senate now as his reason why.
Those opportunities, you know, remaining unclear as of right now, what he may be speaking on in that role of what's to come for him.
So, a little bit of surprise, a lot of speculation going on right now, and not a lot of concrete answers. And I think we'll stay that way for a couple more months until we really find out what he's got going on in the background. One of the last times that we talked about Senator Hanning, obviously a lot of discussion back in the early half of the year before that March primary rolled around, was over the budget negotiations ongoing in the North Carolina General Assembly. Very late into the legislative, what was supposed to be short session, is when a lot of those conversations and discussions materialized, Andrew, and he was very vocal against some of the provisions in the North Carolina budget as it relates to ferry tolling. This is, of course, very relevant for folks in the eastern half of North Carolina.
As you've noted a couple of times, a very loud, a very vocal voice in the room essentially pitted him against Senate leadership because he actually voted no on the second reading of the state budget. That we watched that process play out, pass the Senate and the House, was eventually, even the governor said he had a whole bunch of problems with it, signed it anyway. One of the Republicans in the Senate voting against that legislation, at least from my vantage point, in large part, or almost exclusively because of some of these toll provisions. Yeah, he was only one of two Republicans to vote against the budget as it was presented in front of the Senate. He did so on second reading.
He stepped out of the room during third reading, so did not have a final vote on it. But on second reading, got up on the floor and said, you know, no North Carolinian should ever have to pay a total ride of fairy. I came here, made a promise to my constituents a long time ago, I would not vote for a fairy tax, and I won't now. And so, you know, gave this speech on the Senate floor in a really manner that was, you know, taken back, taken for granted by a lot of Republicans. You know, they assumed that all the votes had lined up after months and months of negotiations that we had covered, you know, two years, over a thousand days of waiting, to have someone in their own Republican caucus vote against a budget was a big deal.
And, you know, he kicked back on Senate leadership there. Ultimately, you know, his vote did not matter as it passed overwhelmingly, both out of the House and the Senate. And so a vote that at the end didn't have a lot of impact, but just seeing a Republican get up and kind of kick Republican leadership. Leadership right in the face was, I think, really stark. You know, we see we've seen this from him in the past.
We saw this with Shrimpgate as well. You know, he became the leading voice last year when the Senate tried to impose kind of these shrimp regulations about shrimp trolling off the coast of North Carolina. You know, he got up and was kind of the leading voice against this and the leading face for that movement at the time, right? When hundreds of individuals showed up to Raleigh in the General Assembly and protested that passing that legislation. And so when that went through, he actually said, I felt like I've been left out to dry by my Senate leadership and really tried to amend that legislation a number of times on the Senate floor and got rejected in doing so.
And so, not someone who had a legislative reputation of kind of rolling over and someone who was not afraid to stand up for his constituents up in northeastern North Carolina.
So seeing him leave this way, I think is quite surprising for a lot of us. Andrew, that's a really good point. And let's maybe move on from the direct story here of Bobby Hoenig announcing he is resigning or retiring from the North Carolina General Assembly. This is a really good example of how a body like a General Assembly or a state legislature is made up. Obviously, the vast majority of members in the North Carolina General Assembly do not have ferries in their districts.
This is something that is pretty unique to the eastern half of North Carolina. And I guess many would argue this is exactly why you would send people from all corners of the state, from the Tennessee border to the Atlantic Ocean, up to Virginia and South Carolina to Raleigh to fight for some of these local issues that I think if we're just being blunt and honest about, the vast majority of citizens and members of the General Assembly, A, don't care about and B, have absolutely no vested interest in at all. It's the challenges of the General Assembly here in North Carolina, Nick, right? We have such a diverse state, whether that be from downtown Durham, you know, Representative Hawkins potentially in Durham, all the way up to the mountains and representing folks who are impacted by Helene, to the coast and districts like Senate District 1 and Bobby Hanning, right? And so I've heard it a number of times, and I heard Senator Michael Lee say it this week.
I've heard Zach Hawkins out of Durham, Representative Hawkins say it a number of times, that the General Assembly should spend more time in other people's districts, right? That elected officials should really work to travel the state to understand other districts because it is such a complicated state with complicated priorities and goals. And this is, I think, a great example of how something like ferry fees, which may seem small or unconsequential to a lot of us here across the state, can impact something so large that someone would vote against their own caucus-backed budget, right? That had a lot of proposals that I'm sure Senator Hanning would tell you he loved and that he was full of support of. And so, but it's little things like this that really make North Carolina so unique when it comes to political.
Landscape. It's one of those things that when we talk about House leadership, Senate leadership makes their districts so important. You know, are we going to end up with someone for next Senate pro tempor like a Senator Michael Lee from the beach from that Wilmington area, or we're going to end up someone with like Ralph Heiss out from Western North Carolina and how different those two priorities could be just based on geographic concerns here? And so I think we see so often red and blue Republican and Democrat in the House and state legislatures across the country. But a lot of times here in North Carolina, we find geographical groups coming together, right?
Whether they be representatives from Western North Carolina versus representatives from Eastern North Carolina or working together on issues like that.
So I think a really important point here, we talked about things like shrinkgate and theory. And that's why it's important that Eastern North Carolina continues to have representation that is loud and impactful because they are dealing with so many unique challenges. Yeah, really great points there, Andrew. And for anybody that has not had the pleasure of taking the trek either from the mountains to the coast or coast to the mountains, North Carolina is a very long state. It is amazing, truly, all the different things and all the different opportunities that exist here in North Carolina.
Just recapping everything here, as we mentioned at the open, Senator Hayding was already not running for reelection. There is a Republican that will be running for that Senate district. There was no primary that Hayning was in for that race. Is it fair to say that as we get closer to November and lawmakers are coming back, that the General Assembly will likely appoint an individual, or I should say the local Republican Party will appoint an individual to fill that seat? As there will be, are we at least now expecting some level of votes later on this year after the election?
I think that is a safe bet, absolutely, that the local council, local GOP will go ahead and nominate a representative. I assume at this point, it will be the Republican nominee for that district who's running in November, and that is Jerry Tillett. He won the GOP nomination back in March. And so I would have to assume that they will put him into that role. You know, it'll be after the election when they come back to vote anyway.
So he will most likely be the elected representative from that district when they do put him into that role.
So he'll serve in that role for about a month and then have to get Rui-Sworn in. And so I think it'll be an interesting ceremony down at the General Assembly why that happens. I'm sure we'll have his family there and everything. But this is a Republican safe district, right? The CIPTOS Partisan Index over at the John Locke Foundation has this as an R plus six.
Bobby Hannig won this district with 57% of the votes by more than 15,000 votes just back in 2024.
So this district is something that is likely Republican and him stepping out of the race this time is not going to impact necessarily whether this district goes red or blue. Me, as you mentioned, he wasn't running anyway. And so, you know, a safe seat, I think, that just now, looking forward, will stay in Republican control. And I have to imagine it'll be Jerry Tillett at this point. You can read the entire statement that was published by Senator Haine yesterday.
We've got those details over on our website this morning, CarolinaJournal.com. We appreciate the update. Andrew Pomerantz joins us on the Carolina Journal News Hour. Good morning again. It's 5:54.
Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, Charlotte's FM News Talk 107.9 FM, WBT recapping our big story over at CarolinaJournal.com this morning. A family from Statesville, a Statesville pastor and his family took the center stage at the White House yesterday afternoon as President Donald Trump marked the start of the school year by touting what he calls the largest ever expansion of school choice in American history. Pastor Caleb Griffith, his wife Jocelyn, and their five children joined the president and other administration officials at a Rose Garden event alongside U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon. The children attend Cornerstone Christian Academy in Statesville, all with the help of North Carolina's Opportunity Scholarship Program.
With that program now reportedly Serving nearly 107,000 students across the state of North Carolina. Griffith said from the podium in the Rose Garden yesterday: We are blessed to be from a state that offers school choice. I have personally seen the benefit of the opportunity scholarship for my family and the school my children attend, Cornerstone Christian Academy. Part of the event was also highlighting some details on the new federal education freedom tax credit that is set to go into effect starting January of next year. Griffith said, because of you, Mr.
President and Secretary McMahon, the Education Freedom Tax Credit will give my children access to the services they need to be successful in the most formidable years of their lives. The state of North Carolina formally opted into this federal tax program on June the 3rd after the North Carolina Senate voted 30 to 19 to override Democrat Governor Josh Stein's veto of House Bill 87. 31 states up to this point have opted in or have announced plans to do so according to the American Federation for Children. This federal program offers what is called a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit of up to $1,700 for donations to scholarship granting organizations. Starting in January of next year, those scholarships can cover things like tuition, tutoring, special education therapies, and transportation for families earning up to 300% of the area median income.
Here in North Carolina, some preliminary details from the American Federation for Children indicate that nearly 1.7 million North Carolina students, or about 93%, would qualify for the scholarship under the current program. We are waiting for additional guidance from the Treasury Department, who will be the part of the group responsible for administering this program, waiting for final rulemaking from them coming up in September. We will be keeping a close eye on that and as well as a school choice, the Opportunity Scholarship Program, and many more education programs here across the Tarheel State. That's going to do it for a Tuesday edition of the Carolina Journal News Hour. WBT News is next.
Followed by Good Morning BT. We're back with you tomorrow morning, 5 to 6, right here on Charlotte's FM News Talk, 107.9 FMW BT. Yeah. When life gets busy, it's important to reach for the things that help keep you grounded. Enhance your focus with the new G2 Edge gel pens from Pilot.
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