School Choice Tax Credits Causing Contention in Virginia
By Krystle Weeks | Tuesday, January 4th, 2011 | PolicyCould legislation involving school choice tax credits become a hot issue during the General Assembly session? Apparently so. Yesterday, John Taylor, President of Tertium Quids sent out an email regarding his disappointment on Del. Tag Greason’s (R-Loudoun) decision not to sponsor their school choice tax credit legislation. The Tertium Quids legislation was modeled after a study authored by Dr. Adam Schaeffer of the Cato Institute and would provide 100 percent income tax credit for individuals and corporations that spend their own money to help educate a child.
Taylor said in the email:
Now for the bad news. In addition to property rights, Tertium Quids has fought to bring competition and choice to Virginia’s school system. Cato’s Dr. Adam Schaeffer, the author of our policy study on the subject, has drafted a bill that would provide a 100 percent income tax credit for individuals and corporations that spend their own money to help educate a child. His plan is modeled after laws that have been extremely successful and now enjoy broad bipartisan support in both Florida and Pennsylvania.
Delegate Thomas “Tag” Greason (R-32) of Loudoun County contacted us last year about that policy study and our bill. After several frank discussions Del. Greason committed to being our patron in 2011. Unfortunately, with less than three weeks to go before the start of the session, Del. Greason has gone back on his word, allowing some of the more timid members of his party to convince him that this year is not “ideal” for a strong school choice bill. Instead, Del. Greason wants to try yet another “camel’s nose under the tent” approach, the same approach that has utterly failed every year for the past decade.
That’s not political leadership. In fact, Del. Greason and his Republican cohorts seem to have missed the message the grassroots has been sending for the last 18 months. We don’t want any more excuses; we want courageous, principled leaders who are unafraid to get results.
Greason, in an interview, regarding his decision not to support the Tertium Quids legislation
I am actually carrying a Bill (Chief Co-Patron with Del. Jimmie Massie) that pushes VA further on School Choice than we have ever been.
I am a huge proponent of School Choice, and will continue to work hard to make it a reality in Virginia. My goal is to ensure that every child has the ability to benefit from a broad based Universal Tax Credit program, and that every citizen and corporation has the ability to donate their state income tax liability to help pay for the expenses associated with educating a child outside of the Public School System. I will continue to talk about it, learn about it, and convince people of the many benefits that a Tax Credit program can bring to Virginia.
When I began studying this issue….(remember, I am NOT a career politician or a life time legislator, so there is much to learn)….I realized that MANY people had gone before me while working on this issue. Mr. Taylor and I crossed paths somewhere along my journey and we agreed that our goals on Tax Credits were in alignment. Being new to this issue, I accepted what Mr. Taylor had to say, and I gave my WORD that I would study the issue and come back to him to let him know if I would in fact carry the Bill or not. This is the only WORD that I gave to Mr. Taylor…and I kept it.
While Mr. Taylor and I believe in the same end game, we do not necessarily agree on how to get there. And since my approach to solving this problem is not the same as Mr. Taylor’s approach, he has decided to mis-represent our “agreement” and has put into question my “word.” As a graduate of the United States Military Academy, I do not react kindly to someone who questions my integrity and honor…and I certainly do not appreciate it when someone does it dis-honestly, like Mr. Taylor has.
Notwithstanding Mr. Taylor’s attempt to tarnish my reputation, I will continue to fight for what I think is right….in the way I think we can get the best result. I do not pretend to know everything on this or any other subject, but I have done a ton of research and I believe the effort to bring real School Choice to VA will make more progress on this path than on any other.
While I agree with the premise of the legislation proposed by Tertium Quids, I think we need to look at this from a fiscally responsible perspective. If you grant 100 percent tax credit to families, there is the potential that this could cost the state more over time. This could be viewed as another example of an unnecessary government expenditure by many taxpayers, etc. A more appropriate tax credit is being proposed in the legislation co-patroned by both Greason and Massie.
School choice is needed now more than ever, since educational standards in public education continue to decline. Parents should have the opportunity to choose the best education for their children, regardless if it is public or private. There has been successful legislation introduced in both Florida and Pennsylvania regarding tax credits for school choice. Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush pointed this out in his Wall Street Journal editorial yesterday, when he said, “Choice is the catalytic converter here, accelerating the benefits of other educational reforms.” Florida’s public schools improved academically due to school choice reforms.
With the success of school choice reforms in Florida and Pennsylvania, the question remains: Will Virginia embrace tax credits for school choice?
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About the author
Growing up in Maryland typically does not yield a Republican. Fortunately, Krystle Weeks was one of the lucky few booted to the Commonwealth for her staunch conservative views. From an early age, she has been debating politics, and since 2006, she has been involved here in the Commonwealth helping Republican candidates to victory. Aside from politics, Krystle is a runner and a dynamite cook. You can email her here. Krystle also blogs at Crystal Clear Conservative and Charm Offensive Cooking.
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10 Responses to "School Choice Tax Credits Causing Contention in Virginia"
That’s just great. As long as any school that benefits from the tax credit is required to meet the same standards for SOL testing as the public schools.
It’s all about accountability. Aren’t the Republicans the ones that wanted that?
@Steve Vaughan, I don’t want your money to teach my children, I just want to use my own and not pay for other people’s children while I am paying for my own children’s education. I would think it is reasonable to get “back” the portion of taxes I pay that are directed towards education, not to exceed what I actually pay to educate my children. It is way less expensive than what the various governments pay to educate children. I will hold myself accountable and I don’t need the state to do it. After I have taken care of my responsibility for my children, I am more than happy to pay to educate children whose parents aren’t able or who choose not to educate their own children.
Norfolk Public Schools (NPS) spends $11,600 per year per student. Give me a $5,000 tax credit for sending my child to a parochial private school and government will save $6,600. Give me a $1,000 tax credit for homeschooling my child and government will save $10,600. I win; public school systems win; state and local governments win. How could you not support school choice tax credits?
Krystle,
I appreciate your fair treatment of this unfortunate circumstance, but you need to do your homework a little bit better. Dr. Schaeffer’s bill specifically calls for a phase-in period that makes it budget neutral. This was a key factor in Del. Greason’s committment to be our patron.
Dr. Schaeffer’s bill also provides a 100%, dollar for dollar credit, which makes it far less complicated and much more attractive to potential corporate and indiviual donors. There is no doubt that, for those who desire real choice and competition in the school system, the Schaeffer bill is far superior to Delegate Massie’s legislation.
Although Del. Greason has so far failed to respond to repeated requests for a copy of the language he submitted to legislative services on behalf of Tertium Quids, I would be more than happy to provide you with a copy of the draft bill on which it was based.
I am confident you will agree that Dr. Schaeffer’s bill is both broader and stronger than Del. Massie’s while remaining budget neutral, and ultimately saving Virginia taxpayers money.
Any time you start mixing apples with oranges, you’ll end up with some very bad cider. There is absolutely no way tax subsidies under any clever, cute and fuzzy umbrella you want to call it–of taxpayer funded “school choice” is going to fly. Unless pigs have wings.
Now that I’ve got your attention here, I am shocked that any religious group operating a school would even THINK about having a tax credit or tax anything for that matter, attached to it.
This is akin to the Roosevelt era “Blue Eagle” and Hitlerism all over again.
What are you people even thinking? Have you not the vaguest idea of the First Amendment? Lord bless us all if we go down this road. It’s bad enough as it is. I would hope the SECTARIAN crowd would understand the inherent dangers of having themselves sanctioned as toold of the state.
Home schoolers: YES
Home Schoolers as Tax Subsidies: NO
Are those bills/proposed bills asking for subsidies or simply allowing people to redirect their own money and save taxpayers money? No, I wouldn’t want another person to pay for my children’s education.
Hmmmm….I thought you all considered tax credits to be government spending…..well, not as long as the spending is for something we want, right?
Kilby, your ignorance is overwhelming. Making sure parents can choose either a public or
nongovernment school is not only the right policy but also the best legal strategy. The U.S. Supreme Court and various state courts have all cited this broad array of choices as an important part of the reason they have found school choice programs constitutional. In addition to ruling that tax credits are not “public money,” the courts
have reasoned that these tax-credit and scholarship programs are not an inappropriate subsidy of religious
institutions because the purpose was secular (the education of children) and the parents were given many
options, including government schools, charter schools, nonpublic secular schools, and nonpublic religious schools.
They’re not looking for subsidizing their choice of schools. It pretty much amounts to several things:
1)A life expense that is recognized and credited against your income. (along the lines of itemizing on your taxes)
2)Recognition that in some instances, a better education will be had. That benefits everyone in the long run.
3)Sometimes it means a safer alternative to public schools in distressed areas. We all know that not all public systems are equal. School Choice is often supported in poorer communities.
4)If you remove your child from the public system, the corresponding amount of dollars no longer needs to be spent. Think of that as rewarding you with the return of some of that money witheld from your pay check for no longer forcing the government to use tax dollars on your child.
5)In some instances, that 1st amendment that Craig Kilby pointed to, is being violated by the government, now. Force feeding your children secularism and acceptance of views counter to how parents want their children raised IS a violation, Craig. Public school should be a neutral on religion, not an indoctrination into a godless world view with politically correct value judgements that are outside of education.
This is about YOUR money and property. It is about the parent’s right to raise their children. I was fortunate to attend public school in Virginia Beach. I know not all school systems are on that level. Not every system gets the job done. In some instances, the education level is fine, but the added indoctrinated values are not.
As a Libertarian, I am against the public school system being used as a tool to preach any religion, or to preach against it. I am definitely against encroaching into areas that should remain with the parents. Suffice it to say, back in the 80′s my opinion would be against the religious right wishing to install “their” prayer in school etc. Now I see them as being the ones having an opposing view forced on their children. Being consistent means I must stand with them now.
Now that we went there on the religious part of the iissue, Craig – let’s recognize that school choice is not JUST based on religious issues. There’s more to it and simplistic rhetoric focusing on one facet of the issue does little justice to the truth.
Read the study and the legislation. It’s a great start. http://www.virginiainstitute.org/pdf/Ed-study-final-Aug-2009.pdf
As I read it, the choice plan does not siphon money from public to private or church schools. It does not cut funding for public education. It does not fund private or church schools. It simply allows more parents to choose (among local options) and to recoup some of the money they spend (through tax relief) on private education costs.
Private school families currently pay tuition bills AND pay taxes to support government schools ~ and we still will. I’m not seeing a ‘freebie for the rich’ here. Lost in the bluster is this plan offers a HUGE tax incentive for high income earners and corporate entities to fund scholarship programs for low/modest/middle income children that currently have zero choice, no escape from a failing school, and limited entry into the benefits of private school education.
The tax credit is means tested; if you earn over 6 times the funding benchmark income for reduced price lunch (about $40K/year for a family of 4 … 6 times $40K = $240K), you qualify for ZERO personal-use tax credits. However you CAN claim tax credit for donations to a scholarship organization or if you directly pay the educational expenses for non dependent children (whose family income is under the previously mentioned benchmark).
I know why the unions don’t want this, I know why the poverty pimps don’t want this …but someone please explain to me why it’s a great idea to keep kids locked into failing schools for another 20 years? How do the kids benefit? How does the community benefit? And why would we NOT want to encourage more competition, more choice, and more access to better education for all?
Also, FWIW, I have 5 grandchildren in a “church” school and offer this insider comment. It isn’t religious instruction that draws in most member families; it’s the affordable and safe environment and culture, which allows excellence, learning, and good citizenship to thrive. If a similar ‘package’ were available in a secular school, they would have opted non-religious. It doesn’t exist and until it does, we are all very grateful for this wonderful church-run alternative.
We ought to be screaming at every Republican who isn’t backing this bill – or at least expect a much fuller explanation (than Gleason offers up) as to why Massie’s bill is the better choice.
“Some time ago at an education reform conference here in Richmond, Sen. Henry Marsh stood up to say that school choice was just a way to re-segregate the public schools. [Now Virginia Secretary of Education Gerard] Robinson then stood up to say that where once George Wallace stood in the schoolhouse doorway to keep black kids out, some politicians (like Marsh) were now standing in the doorway to keep them from leaving.” ~ http://tertiumquids.blogspot.com/2010/01/mcdonnell-makes-excellent-pick.html
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