Expand school choice in Virginia

By Del. Jimmie Massie

Imagine a law that would enable low-income, academically at-risk children to receive improved educational opportunities, save taxpayers tens of millions of dollars a year and improve public schools.

Sounds like a great opportunity for bipartisanship, doesn't it?

That's why Norfolk Democrat Algie Howell, Loudoun County Republican Tag Greason and I introduced House Bill 321 for "Educational Improvement Scholarships." It would allow corporations to receive tax credits for contributing to foundations that provide K-12 scholarships to low-income students. Recipients' parents could then use the scholarships to choose the non-public schools best suited to their child's needs.

Our bill is modeled after Florida's incredibly successful tax-credit scholarship program, which now has almost 40,000 children attending a school of their parent's choice.

In Florida, 75 percent of these children come from minority families with an average income of $26,000 per year. In the past 10 years, Florida's legislators have voted four times to expand this program. Its last expansion enjoyed majority support from the Florida Legislative Black Caucus and all but two Hispanic legislators.

The students benefiting from these scholarships are among the lowest performing students and among the poorest. The scholarships can be used only by students eligible for free or reduced-price meals, and on average the recipients are only 17 percent above the poverty line.

A recent Florida Department of Education report noted, "Scholarship participants have significantly poorer test performance in the year prior to starting the scholarship program than do nonparticipants.... These differences are large in magnitude and are statistically significant, and indicate that scholarship participants tend to be considerably more disadvantaged and lower-performing upon entering the program than their non-participating counterparts."

These are the children who need the most help. Their parents have tried everything and now feel boxed in. Their children often need a different educational setting than a one-size-fits-all public school system can offer.

How does a "tax credit" save taxpayers tens of millions of dollars per year? Under our bill, corporations would receive a 70 percent state tax credit for contributions to K-12 scholarship foundations.

In turn, those foundations must spend 90 percent or more of the contributions on scholarships for low-income students. Each time a student uses a scholarship, the state will save the full amount it spends on that child in a public school.

In other words, a $100,000 donation will "cost" the state $70,000 in tax credits. But it will "save" the state $90,000 in state education expenses. Additionally, local governments may save $6,000 per year, on average, per child that moves to a non-public school.

This math works in Florida, and multiple studies demonstrate savings of more than $30 million a year. The respected Collins Center for Public Policy concluded in 2007 that Florida had accrued nearly $140 million in public school revenues since 2002 as a result of the savings generated.

Virginia's Department of Taxation agrees that "there would be some state General Fund cost reduction resulting from students moving from public to private schools." The only question the department raises is whether there would be sufficient utilization. Florida answers that question, too: There, almost 40,000 students use a scholarship - with a waiting list of almost 10,000 children.

And our bill goes Florida one step better. In Florida, local property tax revenues are combined with state revenue, and localities lose control of their own funds. In our bill, local school systems will continue to receive their state sales tax revenue and, if they so choose, retain what they raise and spend locally - even though they will no longer have to educate a child who left their system.

The Florida program has had a positive effect on local public school systems. In 2010, Education Week reported on a study of the program for the National Bureau of Economic Research, noting that the "results show modest but clear gains in reading and math test scores for students in public schools that faced private school competition through the Florida program. The closer to the nearest private school, the greater the public school gains. And for public schools having a larger number of private schools nearby, the effect was even greater, the study showed."

In short, numerous independent studies have proven that these scholarships have given new opportunities to low-income, at-risk students, saved tax money and had a positive academic impact on students remaining in nearby public schools. What's not to like?

Which is exactly the point. The primary purpose of any K-12 education bill must be to help Virginia students become better prepared for the demands of the 21st century, especially during these difficult economic times.

Jimmie Massie, a Republican from Henrico County, serves in the House of Delegates. Email: DelJMassie@house.virginia.gov.