Many people have asked if school tax credits, primarily the $400 Extra Curricular Activities credit and the Private School Tuition credit of $1,000, are on the chopping block for 2010 (they were not an option for 2009 because of the late notice and short period left). These credits redirect Arizona tax collections for specific purposes as determined by the donor. Many of your after-school programs, field trips, music and sports activities are funded by ECA contributions.
In 2007, the ECA tax credit generated approximately $44 million and the Private Tuition credit generated approximately $63.8 million. Schools have come to depend on tax credits to fund numerous programs. In the world of school finance, tax credits are about the only funding source prioritized by parents, not the legislature, school district or teachers.
And there lies the problem. The Arizona Education Association and the Arizona School Board Association would like to see a temporary suspension of school tax credits so that those funds could be sent directly to the classroom. However, thousands of teachers, including many AEA members, and hundreds of school board members, almost all belonging to the ASBA, oppose restrictions to school tax credits. So what would King Solomon do?Given our financial situation, there will most likely not be any expansion of school tax credits, although there are three bills pushing for that. However, if any of the bills restricts the use of tax credits in one area than it may be possible to expand them in another, keeping the net effect the same. Keep your eyes open for more information.
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I'm a member of AEA, and I oppose these back-door vouchers. Then again, I know the history behind the ECA's and STO vouchers... and why one is only $400 and one is $1000.
ReplyDeleteOriginally, there were only going to be vouchers given to parents of private school children. To get sufficient support and votes to pass the bill, though, an amendment was added so that public school parents could also participate... but at a lower level.
The total amount has been increased over the years due to the so-called "marriage penalty" and other backroom shenanigans. Oddly though, private schools always are allowed to take higher amounts of donations.
And the people who take these donations can keep 10% as administrative costs. Ask Steve Yarborough how much money he made while he was V-Pres and then Pres of a School Tuition Organization. Seems like I remember one year's salary being $100,000. Maybe it was more?
The really nefarious part, though, is that you can earmark these tax credits for your kids. No, of course you cannot set aside your own STO donation for your own child, but you can "buddy up" with other parents from your kid's private school. You sponsor their kid. They sponsor yours.
And you get to skirt the law.
Why does the "part of responsibility" never address this?
Get rid of these vouchers. A "check off" box on a tax form is no way to fund public education. We should all pay a little bit more in taxes and we would easily quadruple the amount raised through this silly scheme... AND it would be more equitably dispersed.
2008 numbers from [ http://www.azcentral.com/ic/community/2008ECAl.html ]
Mountain View High $414,072.41 [12%]
Skyline High $74,984.78 [39%]
Rhodes Jr. High $148,578.40 [27%]
Powell Jr. High $9,490.00 [80%]
Zaharis Elementary $46,705.00 [20%]
Robson Elementary $3,325.00 [68%]
Those are the highs and lows in ECA reporting for the high schools, junior highs, and elementary schools in Mesa.
What is the percentage in brackets? That is the reported percentage of students eligible for the Free and Reduced Lunch Program. Notice a pattern?
Yeah.. true equity there.
When people see numbers like this they might start to differ on using such an inequitable funding scheme for our public schools.
Parents want opportunities for their kids, but why do we allow such a system that segregates out the poor kids?