School choice plan may cost $500 million

ROBERT W. DALTON, Staff Writer

COLUMBIA -- A scaled-down version of Gov. Mark Sanford's controversial school choice bill would cost South Carolina more than twice as much as the original plan, according to a review by the state's Board of Economic Advisors.

The fourth edition of "Put Parents in Charge," which makes the proposal a two-county pilot program, would cost the state more than $500 million a year because of an amendment that allows a tax credit for contributions to public schools, the BEA's statement of estimated impact determined.

The House will debate the bill today.

The original Put Parents in Charge bill -- which would have allowed families statewide to claim tax credits to cover costs of sending their children to private schools, another public school or for home schooling -- would have cost about $231.6 million a year when fully implemented.

Families with less than $75,000 in taxable income and two exemptions would be eligible for the credits. The income cap goes up by $5,000 for each exemption. To have $75,000 in taxable income, a family would have to earn more than $90,000.

Individuals and businesses would have received a tax credit of 100 percent for donations to Scholarship Granting Organizations. The SGOs would provide

scholarships for students from low-income families.

The House Ways and Means Committee voted last week to follow Sanford's blueprint, but limit the rollout to two counties -- one wealthy, one poor -- as selected by the state Department of Education. The amended version also limited contributions to SGOs to $10,000 per individual or corporation.

That portion of the bill, sponsored by Rep. Adam Taylor, R-Laurens, would cost the state $16.4 million when fully implemented in 2007-08.

But an amendment introduced by Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, designed to provide more money for public schools by offering a tax credit for contributions to any district, would cost an additional $525 million when fully implemented.

"I'm surprised by the discrepancy," Cobb-Hunter said. "I thought it would be similar to the main bill."

Cobb-Hunter said the cost did not really matter to her.

"All of my efforts are going to be devoted to killing 'Put Parents in Charge,'" she said.

Taylor said he would not be able to support the bill in its present form.

"Obviously that's not going to be palatable to members who couldn't take the $231 million cost," he said.

House Speaker Pro Tem Doug Smith, R-Spartanburg, the primary sponsor of the original bill, said there were a couple of proposals in the works that could salvage the plan.

"One is to make it a raw pilot and take out (Cobb-Hunter's) amendment," Smith said. "There also are those who are willing to look at making it a statewide program only for under-performing schools."

That proposal would make "Put Parents in Charge" apply only to schools rated below average or unsatisfactory, provide either a straight voucher or a tax credit depending on income levels and eliminate the SGOs.

The Ways and Means Committee failed to approve a similar version last week when it deadlocked at 11-11.

That left everyone looking to today's debate.

"Tomorrow is going to be an interesting day," Taylor said Tuesday.

Robert W. Dalton can be reached at 562-7274 or bob.dalton@shj.com.