Catholics Push Tuition Tax Credits Advocates Say Plan Would Save State Money, But Skeptics Question Loss Of State Revenues
A former state legislator now lobbying for the Catholic diocese of Boise has called on Idaho’s thousands of Catholics to pressure lawmakers for a tuition tax credit for parents of children attending nonpublic schools.
“If every legislator received 20 or 30 calls regarding this legislation before he or she heads to Boise for the start of the Idaho Legislature (in January), we could almost be assured the bill would pass,” former state Rep. Tim Brennan wrote in the Idaho Catholic Register earlier this month.
The twice-monthly publication, which listed the names and telephone numbers of all legislators, is distributed to 15,000 Catholic families throughout the state.
Tax relief for parents of some 12,000 children attending private or home schools got a boost last summer when Idaho Attorney General Al Lance said he believes such tax breaks would be constitutional if provided directly to parents of children complying with compulsory school attendance laws.
After years of debate over vouchers and credits, legislation for a $500 tax credit per child not attending public school, up to a maximum of $2,500 per family each year, narrowly was endorsed by House tax writers last winter but never came to a final vote in the House.
Legislation being promoted by Brennan calls for a $1,500 tax credit per family, to be phased in one grade each year.
“The legislation would help build private school enrollments and slow the rapid increases in public school enrollments and the number of new classrooms needed,” Brennan wrote in the Catholic publication.
House Speaker Michael Simpson, a Blackfoot Republican running for Congress, called school tax credits one of the big issues facing lawmakers.
“I am not flatly opposed to vouchers and tax credits, but I do have some concerns with them,” Simpson said. “My main concern is the revenue loss to the state. That’s going to affect public schools, and that concerns me.”
Skeptics question reducing already tight state revenues by an estimated $6 million when the credit is fully implemented. They also question whether tuition tax credits really would encourage any of the more than 243,000 public school students to switch to private schools where tuition runs as high as $5,000 a year.
But private school operators, who point out that waiting lists are the norm at their institutions, say parents look at private schools because they want more than public schools offer.
xxxx Tax break Tim Brennan is promoting legislation that calls for a $1,500 tax credit per family, to be phased in one grade each year.