Gov. Sanford’s tuition tax credit plan 

Recently, Governor Sanford vetoed the reassessment tax cap, in part because he recognized that it would take funds from public education. Doesn’t he recognize the fact that his tuition tax credit plan, the “Put Parents in Charge Act,” will do the same thing?

Projected figures by the S.C. Board of Economic Advisers show Sanford’s plan to reimburse parents who send their children to private school or home school will delete $234 million a year from our state treasury if the plan passes the Legislature and is fully implemented. Qualifying parents who earn less than $75,000 a year will receive a tax credit from their state income tax in the amount of $3,200-$4,600 per school year. As a result, local property taxes will be forced to increase because school boards will be expected to replace lost funding in order to provide educational quality at current levels or face a decrease in their quality of education. Charleston County property taxes pay for the bulk of our district expenses, and our tax rate (millage) is the lowest in the state.

Parents, teachers and members of the Charleston County community lobbied the school board two years ago for an increase in taxes when the reassessment tax cap threatened to cut $25 million dollars in funding for teaching positions as well as art, music and athletic programs. The message then was clear: We want to see our schools improve, we want full funding at the school level and we support our public schools. Now, we are faced with the tuition tax credit plan that is another threat to our funding. We must again voice our concerns and support our schools.

Public money should go to public schools. If tax money follows the child to private school, then why tax someone without children to fund public schools? The same argument follows that if I do not drive over the new Cooper River bridge, then I should not have to pay for it. Obviously, these arguments overlook the public good as a whole. Moreover, taking public tax revenue from public schools and giving it to private/religious schools may be illegal under the state constitution. In Colorado and other states, courts have held it illegal.

When tuition tax credits are given from state income tax coffers, the state will lose funding for education and other state funded services and programs including parks, prisons, state troopers, universities and Medicaid, to name a few possibilities. State funding for education is $400 less per student for this school year than what the Education Finance Act says it should be. That’s a total shortfall of $227 million this year alone for the state’s public school students.

Finally, it is wrong for a plan, which will remove funding from South Carolina’s public schools, to come at a time when there is an ongoing lawsuit in which eight of our poorest counties are suing the state for adequate education funding.

The governor’s plan is really about more than removing funds from our public schools. It is about the leadership of our state turning its back on public education. Why don’t our leaders focus on improving the education of the majority of students in South Carolina, those who attend public schools? Why are they encouraging parents to send their children to private schools?

All parents and supporters of public school students should let the governor and our elected representatives know that this is not an acceptable plan for education in our state. If tuition tax credits are passed into law, our lawmakers will have proven themselves to be irresponsible with our tax dollars.

Sarah Cash

President

East Cooper Parent-Teacher Association Council

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