How can a North Carolina municipality help fund the education of home school and other local non-public school students?  Just ask the majority of Wake County’s Cary Town Council and they will probably say, "Expand the town’s library book collection."

        In May 2001, the Cary Town Council voted 4-3 to provide more than $17,000 to the Cary Public Library to buy a variety of books most often utilized by home school families.

        A Cary based home school group headed up by Michelle K. Muir directed the effort to convince the Town Council to assist home schooled students.  The home school group worked with the librarians to compile a list of 400 titles most frequently sought by home school families.  Initially, the Cary Town Council had also considered providing scientific equipment which could be loaned at no charge for home school usage.  However, in the end, the Council eliminated that possibility because of the potential problem of equipment damage as borrowers take the equipment to and from the town storage location.

        In 2000, the town of Cary budgeted about $3.5 million in grants to area schools that teach Cary children.  It's decision to fund certain local public and non-public schools is evidently the first instance in North Carolina of a municipality helping to fund local schools -- public, private as well as home schools.  Each conventional school must enroll at least 30 students who reside within the town limits.  The grants represent about $200 per Cary student.  $245,000 of the overall amount will go to local non-public schools.