He said (Wrong), She said (Right) on tuition tax credits

by David Safier

Yesterday the Star published an op ed praising tuition tax credits to the skies. Today the paper ran another op ed criticizing the excesses of the program. It's good to see the Star back in the game on this important issue.

The pro-tuition tax credit piece was an answer to the Star editorial which was rightly critical of the program. The writer, however, doesn't make much of a case. Very weak tea.

Today's piece criticizing the way tuition tax credits are administered and given out — by far the more focused argument of the two — was written my Mary Lee Moulton, a co-founder of the Arizona Education Network.

Let me pause for a moment here to make a pitch.

If you're interested in the future of AZ public education and aren't on the Arizona Ed Network (AEN) mailing list, you're missing out on some of the best information and analysis in the state. Groups that formed all over the state to fight the de-funding of public education have joined together to form AEN, a growing, bipartisan — or more accurately, non partisan — coalition which could turn out to be one of the most powerful organizations of its kind in the state. Click the small "Join Us" banner in the middle of the home page and give them your email. I count on their e-newsletters to keep me up to date on the big stuff as well as the often-overlooked details, and I've called some of the leaders on more than one occasion to track down information I need.

Here are a few choice excerpts from Moulton's op ed.

Faced with a burgeoning budget hole and no solution in sight, the legislative leadership last week proposed a way to deepen — yes, deepen — our state debt.

It involves funneling even more state tax dollars to private schools and helping line the pockets of the middlemen who profit handily by skimming 10 percent of tax-credit dollars as they are diverted to private schools.

[snip]

Your state tax dollars will also continue enriching Rep. Steve Yarbrough, R-Mesa, the primary sponsor of legislation expanding private-school tax credits and the beneficiary of those tax dollars as head of the largest School Tuition Organization. Legislators have already refused to declare that Yarbrough has a blatant conflict of interest that should be illegal; instead of cracking down on his industry, the House panel voted to help him expand it.

[snip]

Every Arizonan should contact their state legislator and demand they follow the fiscally responsible path. Insist that any scholarship offered through tax credits is means tested. Tell them to introduce legislation to reduce the 10 percent taken off the top to a more reasonable 3 to 5 percent. Finally, tell them they will be held accountable if they expand special interest tax breaks when Arizona has a $3 billion deficit.