Pro & Con: Are tuition tax credits helping improve education in Georgia?

But now we have a new school choice option that allows individuals and corporations to donate their own money to scholarship organizations — no different than if they were giving to the United Way or the Atlanta Symphony — and earn a tax credit for their charitable donation.

The Georgia Tuition Tax Credit program has prompted scholarship organizations to raise money and award scholarships to children who want to transfer from public to private schools. These are not school vouchers. Children are instead earning scholarships from individuals who designate their checks to the good works of these student scholarship organizations (SSOs) instead of the government.

There are 20 such organizations helping parents by providing more school choice. The tax credit is not a program designed in any way to benefit private schools. Its mission is to help parents and students. Each SSO establishes its own focus. For example, some award scholarships to children who want to attend Hebrew schools; others award scholarships only to children from middle- to lower-income families; others award scholarships for children who only want to attend Christian schools; others target children in more rural communities who want to attend private schools.

That’s the beauty of the new tuition tax credit program. It is not a voucher program with strict government rules on how each organization should be governed. Instead, it allows charitable money to flow freely to these private scholarship organizations that set their own bylaws and choose which families they would like to assist in seeking more school choice in Georgia.

The law does not specify how long a student has to be enrolled in a public school before qualifying for a tuition tax credit scholarship — and that’s a good thing. Some children enroll in public schools and find their school, classroom, curriculum or teacher is not a good fit. This tax credit offers hope that some children, such as those in failing schools, may search for a way out as soon as they need it. There are no arbitrary rules of how long they must endure a bad situation.

With the recession, donations to the tax credit program and SSOs have been lower than first anticipated. As of last month, the tax credit program generated about $7.83 million in donations of the state-permitted $50 million annual cap. Couples may donate up to $2,500 annually; individuals can take a $1,000 tax credit off taxes due the state if they donate to an SSO. Corporations can reduce up to 75 percent of their taxes due the state if they make a charitable gift to one to of these scholarship organizations.

Since the program is gaining popularity, it’s possible the General Assembly will consider making it available to any student, not just those in public schools, as the economy recovers. After all, it’s really in the spirit of giving, no different than if taxpayers wanted to reduce their tax burden because they gave money to the University of Georgia or a homeless shelter.

At some point, public school administrators are going to get it. This is not about public schools versus private schools. It’s about parents and giving them the chance to find the best educational setting for their child. Parents, after all, know what’s best for their children. The tuition tax credit program is a child-centered education platform that puts power and choice back in the hands of parents.

State Rep. David Casas of Lilburn, a Republican, is a member of the House Education Committee.

NO. Recent abuses show the credits don’t safeguard public schools.

By Tim Callahan

The Professional Association of Georgia Educators opposed tuition tax credits because we felt it would siphon students and funding from public schools at a time when they are hurting financially after years of “austerity cuts” and because we learned that it would not necessarily be welcomed by many private schools either. It also struck us as a milepost on the way to taxpayer funded vouchers, a measure that has failed twice in recent legislative sessions and something most Georgians oppose.

We also saw little to keep participants from gaming the system. Several such abuses recently came to light when the AJC reported that some private school students were briefly enrolling in public schools simply to qualify for the scholarships.

While we hope the abuses are as few as initially reported, the truth is no one knows how much abuse might be occurring. There could be many families across the state that have substituted taxpayer dollars for their own funds as tuition for their children to continue in private school.

Some political leaders have been extremely aggressive in promoting legislation that would “balkanize” the public schools via taxpayer funding or incentives for charter schools, tuition scholarship programs, home schools and voucher programs. Would that these same legislators had been as aggressive about putting in safeguards to insure that public tax dollars would be well spent and that students would succeed academically in these new settings.

A recent report from the state auditor indicated that in the case of charter schools the state is not doing an adequate job of monitoring either the financial operations or student achievement.

We are proud to have several hundred members teaching in private schools across the state. They are conflicted themselves about this “scholarship” program, worried that entering into it might bring unforeseen consequences. Accepting public dollars often comes with “strings” that can mean potential changes to such things as recruitment, entrance and acceptance policies, curriculum, testing or any number of other school related programs, policies and procedures.

Let’s be clear. We have no bone to pick with private schools. They have a long and honorable history and they have a unique mission. It is a shame that political ideology and tough economic times place us in opposition to some of the private schools that have begun accepting these taxpayer dollars.

The sponsors of this legislation emotionally introduced it by expressing their concerns about the poor and underprivileged children they could “rescue” from failing public schools. If these legislators had a lengthy track record in support of poor and underprivileged families and their children it might come as news to other legislators, public agencies and social service advocates who have been about this work for many years. But that aside, what is the public benefit to create a tax-funded program that might help one or two children in a given public school that is not succeeding with several hundred students?

As they cut funds from all public schools ($1.7 billion in austerity cuts at last count) do legislators actually think programs such as tuition tax credit scholarships create a net benefit? Might it not be better to legislate and fund in such a way that we come to the aid of all public school students who are struggling?

My conservative friends often quote Winston Churchill, so here’s one for them: “The American people always do the right thing, but only after they have exhausted all other possibilities.” Perhaps when our leaders have exhausted the other possibilities they’ll come back to support the schools where 1.6 million of our students spend every day.

Tim Callahan is director of public relations for the Professional Association of Georgia Educators.