'Parents in Charge' supporters make case for tuition tax credit

By ROB NOVIT Senior writer

COLUMBIA — The proposed "Put Parents in Charge" legislation is the next step in education reform, former State Superintendent of Education Dr. Barbara Neilsen said Wednesday.

If approved, the bill would create in part tax credits for parents with a maximum income of about $75,000 to offset a portion or all of their tuition costs to private schools or to home-schooling. The legislation is likely to provoke a bitter fight in the 2005 session of the S.C. General Assembly.

"Parents should have the ability to choose," said Neilsen at a briefing session for reporters. "I haven't met a parent who doesn't want something for his kids. We have to be open to all different models."

The meeting was sponsored by a group called South Carolina for Responsible Government and also included representatives of the S.C. Policy Council, the S.C. Center for Grassroots and Community Alternatives and the Legislative Education Action Drive organization. LEAD has been active in trying to get similar programs established in other states.

The legislation would also create the opportunity for businesses and individuals to get tax credits by contributing to qualified Scholarship-Granting Organizations (SGOs) that can be created under the measure.

"The public school system is going to be afraid of this because of the way things have always been done," said Neilsen. "Yes, we've made some gains, but it's not fast enough. No one is more of an advocate for poor children than I am. There is also a forgotten middle who could do a little bit better with a different type of delivery."

But research has shown no consensus that such a program is effective for participating students or in improving public schools as a result of the program, said Jim Foster, public information director at the State Department of Education.

"This is a fiscally conservative state," he said. "It's difficult to imagine why we would invest more than $200 million in public money and not have a clue about how it's used. There's no accountability and no oversight, and that's a recipe for fraud and abuse."

But the tuition tax credit supporters said that the estimated cost for tuition tax credits of more than $250 million is greatly exaggerated and based on erroneous data by a researcher with the state's Board of Economic Advisors.

"This is not really radical at all," said Ashley Landress of the S.C. Policy Council. "This won't take money away from public schools. Parents are going to spend some, but not all of their education tax dollars. The rest will remain in the public schools."

The Aiken County Board of Education is on record as opposing the Put Parents in Charge legislation and all attempts to divert public education dollars, said Aiken Superintendent Dr. Linda Eldridge. She hopes that Gov. Mark Sanford, the key supporter of tuition tax credits, will be open to information from those who support public education.

"We see first hand the needs that our students must face," said Eldridge. "Tuition tax credits don't address those problems. Most teachers are concerned that by draining school resources, we're leaving these children with even greater risks."

The supporters of the legislation readily expect the program to lead the way to establish new private and faith-based schools. Stephen Gilchrist, president and CEO of the Grassroots and Community Alternatives firm, said there is a lot of interest among the African American community about tuition tax credits. Some small schools already have started throughout the state, he said, and he expects more to follow.

But Dr. John Bradley, the Aiken School District's board chairman, said that many children already in private schools eventually will get in effect state funds to finance their education.

"I've made my position clear that I'm opposed to any program that takes money away from public schools," said Bradley. "This is going to privatize education, which is great for those who can afford it. But poor people won't be able to afford it. We'll survive no matters what happens, but this would be a blow to public education."

Contact Rob Novit at rnovit@aikenstandard.com.

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