THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA: State Report Gives Pros, Cons for Public School Donations

STATE REPORT GIVES PROS, CONS FOR PUBLIC SCHOOL DONATIONS

By KATHLEEN HAUGHNEY
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, Oct.8, 2009……..Legislative auditors are warning that public schools might suffer if the Legislature pursues a program where businesses would receive a tax credit in exchange for donating money to public schools

The Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability said this week that research on the feasibility of a tax credit program for public schools in Florida , similar to ones in Pennsylvania and Arizona, would likely help fund educational activities such as field trips or extracurricular activities if it were pursued.

In Pennsylvania, the program funded about 1,000 activities such as museum and zoo tours, mentoring programs and sports camps for the 2008-2009 school year.

The state already has a tax credit scholarship program, which gives a tax credit to businesses that donate money to a scholarship fund that sends low income students to private schools. That program, the OPPAGA report said, actually saves money because the state doesn’t need to allocate public money to fund the education for those children.

But a donation program for public schools wouldn’t do that, the auditors wrote.

“In contrast, creating a similar program for public schools would result in a net loss of state tax revenue because the funds would supplement and not supplant current state educational funding,” the report reads.

An OPPAGA report from last December concluded that the state saved $1.49 in state education funding for every dollar loss in corporate income tax revenue due to credits for scholarship contributions.

The report also questions whether the private school scholarship program could be negatively impacted if “businesses that now contribute to the program instead make donations to the new public school program.” Last year, the scholarship program provided 24,000 students scholarships worth $3,950 each. The recipients are all low income children.

The Florida Education Association, which represents Florida teachers, has ardently opposed the voucher program and also opposes a donation for tax credit program for public schools.

“FEA believes that corporations should pay their taxes and support the state of Florida the way individuals do,” spokesman Mark Pudlow said. “Carving out special niches for special projects contributes to the inequality in the tax system in this state.”

The OPPAGA report was submitted to the Department of Education and the Department of Revenue for a response, but the two agencies did not provide a formal opinion on any of the content. No legislation has been filed on the proposal as of Thursday.

-END-
10/08/2009

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