Private Schoolers Could Get Break

The House tax committee has agreed to introduce a bill that would give parents a tax credit of $1,000 for each child educated in non-public schools.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Fred Tilman, told the Revenue and Taxation Committee on Thursday that enacting the bill would cost an estimated $13.3 million per year. But he said the cost would be almost offset by public schools not having to educate those children.

The Boise Republican said there are 6,487 students in private schools in Idaho, with an estimated 3,000 other students in home schools.

He estimated the number entered into private or home schools would go up by about 3,000 with the incentive in place, meaning about 13,000 students would be educated in other than public schools.

Since the state puts up $3,843 per public school student, that would save the regular school system $12.6 million, Tilman said.

“For every student not using the public school system, the state could lose $1,000 in revenue but save $2,843 per student in expenses to educate that student,” the measure’s explanation said.

Although committee members said they had doubts about the proposal, they voted introduction so the Tilman bill can be sent to a special subcommittee for study.

In response to a question from Rep. Frank Bruneel, R-Lewiston, Tilman acknowledged that if a family with four children had no state tax obligation, they could get a check from the state for $4,000 each year for sending the children to non-public schools or schooling them at home.