Sanford's choice plan

South Carolina may not be ready for an educational voucher system just yet, but Gov. Mark Sanford and his GOP allies in the legislature think the state is ready for an innovative tax credit program that will give parents more control over their children's education.

ADVERTISEMENT

Have a thought? Go to the Forums or Chat.

Subscribe  E-mail this story  Write a letter to the Editor  Printer-friendly version  Get news on your PDA  Get e-mail headlines

The measure, sure to be the most important educational initiative this legislative session, is called the Put Parents in Charge Act.

It is designed, says the governor, to "bring real-market pressure to bear on the current system - something that's been proven to help improve performance at public schools where similar choice measures have been implemented."

Specifically, the proposal would allow families making less than $75,000 annually to receive an education tax credit on property or income taxes to use toward private education, homeschooling or to pay for transferring a child to another school district.

Families would be eligible for credits of 80 percent of school tuition, with caps of $3,200 for a kindergarten student, $4,000 for a student in first through eighth grades, and $4,600 for students in ninth through 12th grades.

But get this: The state's poorest parents, whose kids qualify for free or reduced lunches, will be eligible for credits of 100 percent of the tuition, with the same caps as the individual tax credits.

Short of a voucher system, the Sanford plan does more to expand educational choice than anything else on the table. But that doesn't mean clear sailing.

Critics say the legislation is just a backdoor voucher system that milks public schools of needed funds.

That's not true if Sanford's tax credit is used to send a child from a bad public school to a good one. However, when a child is pulled out of a public school, there is, obviously, one less student for the schools to educate; hence, there is no net loss of funding for students who stay in the system.

Besides, the program won't be instituted all at once. It's going to take five years to fully integrate the Sanford plan into the educational system - plenty of time to iron out any wrinkles.

Any doubts about the plan are trumped by the new educational opportunities it opens up for South Carolinians frustrated at their kids' slow progress in the current public school system.

--From the Monday, March 8, 2004 printed edition of the Augusta Chronicle