Posted on 06/28/2002 12:18:27 PM PDT by hsmomx3
Arizona parents who are ready to sign up their kids for a private school, and expect the state to pick up the tuition bill, are in for a big disappointment.
There are months of politicking, and perhaps a statewide vote, standing between eager parents and state money.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Thursday allows states to give parents grants, commonly known as vouchers, to help pay tuition at private or religious schools. But before parents can take advantage of the ruling, Arizona legislators would need to wrestle a tuition voucher program into state law.
"There are all sorts of policy possibilities," said Monsignor Edward Ryle of the Catholic Diocese of Phoenix, which has 13,600 students attending school on about 30 Valley campuses. "I'm not going to tell my people to start building more schools this summer."
The voucher program differs from Arizona's tax credit program that lets taxpayers make a general contribution to a public school or direct money toward an individual student, but not their own child. Taxpayers also can receive the credit by donating to a private or religious school scholarship fund. A single person can receive up to a $500 credit, and a couple up to $625, on their state income tax.
Here are some of the questions lawmakers must answer before a voucher program can become reality:
• How much state money would parents receive?
Many politicians expect the grants given to parents to be less than the $5,000 the state already spends on educating a student. They say the program won't fly with the Legislature unless it saves taxpayers money.
Some lawmakers and lobbyists will be pushing for voucher grants of as little as $1,500. "Any more than that and taxpayer benefits would disappear," said Kevin McCarthy of the Arizona Tax Research Association, an organization of businesses interested in tax policy.
And so would a great deal of political support, agreed state Sen. Ken Bennett, a Prescott Republican and voucher supporter. A voucher program that would save the state at least 50 percent, or $2,500 a child, Bennett said, would have a far better chance of clearing the Legislature.
But any voucher program that would offer parents less than what it takes to educate a child is unfair, said Arizona schools chief Jaime Molera.
"A lot of voucher supporters want to do it on the cheap," he said.
• Who would get the tax credit?
Not everyone, many politicians believe.
Bennett is among those who think a voucher program is more politically palatable if it's aimed at students in schools the state officially labels as "failing."
"Then you could say the child is not getting access to a good education," Bennett said, "and the parent should be empowered to make their own choice."
Attorney Thomas Liddy of the Arizona Institute for Justice, an advocacy group that helped fight for the voucher victory, expects a state program would be limited to kids from low-income families, such as those who qualify for the federal free school lunch program.
"It's easier to build a coalition to help the poor," Liddy said.
But those who support vouchers only for low-income students can expect opposition from Rep. Linda Gray, the Glendale Republican who chairs the House Education Committee. "It should be an option open to anybody," she said.
• Do voters need to approve a state voucher system?
Some lawyers say no law will be put into place before voters say so.
Arizona's Constitution is tougher than the U.S. Constitution in its prohibition against taxpayer money going to religious education.
"Based on the way our constitution is written, it would have to go to a vote of the people," Arizona School Boards Association attorney Chris Thomas said.
Not so, said Liddy. In a 3-2 decision in 1999, Arizona's Supreme Court allowed Arizonans the dollar-for-dollar income tax credit for donations to private and religious school scholarship funds. That opened the way for a constitutional state voucher program, Liddy said, and makes a statewide vote unnecessary.
However, the American Civil Liberties Union is challenging Arizona's tax credit program. Lawyers last week argued technical aspects of the lawsuit before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, and a win would keep the suit alive, said Arizona State University law Professor Paul Bender.
Trent Franks, a former Arizona legislator who created the school tax credit program, said all this political wrangling wouldn't be necessary if the courts didn't get so involved in shaping public education.
As an example, he pointed to the unpopular 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision on Wednesday to remove any reference to God from classroom recitations of the Pledge of Allegiance.
"It's made public schools so hostile to people of faith," Franks said, "and that motivates us to find alternatives."
Reporters Jon Kamman and Mel Melendez contributed to this article. Reach the reporter at pat.kossan@arizonarepublic.com.
With the school voucher debate resolved, it never ceases to amaze me at how those who oppose vouchers conveniently forget a very important fact. Those who use vouchers must pay mandatory property taxes of which a large chunk goes to fund government schools. Seems to me that what they pay comes right back to these parents in the form of a voucher. It's about time parents are able to make a "wise" decision as to where/how their child is to be educated.
I really think that states and the NEA will start cracking the whip on who gets vouchers, etc. I also think that they will work very hard to make it virtually impossible to homeschool. They are looking for all the $$$ they can get and headcount is what matters to the govt. schools.
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