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Tuesday, March 31, 2015

ICYMI: School Aid Win-Win‏

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School Aid Win-Win


Editorial Board - "Providing students real choice, whether through public magnet schools, charter schools, or parochial and other forms of private schools is a proven method for improving educational outcomes." 

Editorial Board
The Baltimore Sun
March 30, 2015
"

… Providing students real choice, whether through public magnet schools, charter schools or parochial and other forms of private schools is a proven method for improving educational outcomes. …
"Now lawmakers have a chance to create even more carefully targeted help to students for whom a private primary or secondary school might be the best choice. Under legislation submitted by Mr. Hogan, the state would provide an income tax credit to companies that donate money to qualified student financial assistance programs. The total amount that could be deducted under the proposed Maryland Education Credit would be limited to $5 million next year, $10 million the following year and then $15 million after that.


"The beauty of the proposal is that the money wouldn't go directly to private schools, some of which have hefty endowments and hardly need a tax credit to attract wealthy donors anxious to finance yet another edifice in their names. Rather, the money can be used only for so-called Student Assistance Organizations that provide tuition support for needy students who have applied to a private or parochial school. Businesses are limited to a credit not exceeding 60 percent of a donation, and no single business could receive more than $200,000 in tax credits.
"Better yet, this is a benefit that extends to public schools as well. Under the legislation, 40 percent of the tax credit is intended to aid students in eligible public schools. That means these tax-deductible private donations could be used for after-school tutors or similar programs not normally financed by cash-strapped public schools. …
"We are staunch defenders of Maryland's public schools, and we applaud lawmakers for finding extra dollars in this year's budget plan not only to operate schools and keep class sizes from rising but to renovate and build them as well. But we also recognize there are instances when children can succeed better in a private school than they might in an under-performing public school that serves their neighborhood. Unfortunately, families can't make that choice if they don't have the money to pay tuition. Even relatively prosperous private schools have limits on how much financial aid they can offer poor or working class families.

"Many legislators agree. The Senate has approved similar legislation several times in the past on a bipartisan basis and is likely to do so again. The obstacle has traditionally been the House of Delegates where Mr. Hogan's proposal currently resides like an abandoned child twiddling its thumbs the Ways and Means Committee. That Maryland's teacher unions are strongly against the measure might have something to do with that. Surely there is room for a political compromise that protects public schools but gives students real choice.
"After all, if Maryland is going to take pride in the excellence of its schools, it ought to demonstrate support for all its schools, not just the government-run variety that employ unionized labor. …"

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Could you provide a link to a copy of the legislation? I would like to read it. Thank you.

Anonymous said...

The bill was perfect UNTIL the a Senate panel voted to send a DISMANTLED version to the full chamber. The original bill proposed by Governor Hogan was written to make it easier to open more charter schools and give them more flexibility in hiring, funding and other wonderful things. The amended bill only gives them a little bit of flexibility. Just for the record there is a waiting list in MD of 12,000 to get into a charter school.
Democrat obstructionists at work. Democrats don't want parents to have a choice. They think they are the ones who are supposed to tell parents what is best for their children. The Hogan admin is not happy with the rewritten version.
10:29 The bill WAS titled "Public Charter School Expansion and Improvement Act of 2015" until the obstructionist democrats deleted the "expansion" out of the title.

Anonymous said...

Forget this Baltimore Sun editorial. The paper was critical of the bill in it's original form. Only after it was gutted and bled out by the democrats does the Sun give praise to it. Don't be fooled by that, another liberal biased 2nd rate source of information.