Local View: Helping Families, Finance
By SEN. Rob Clements, March 7, 2023:
I have been a consistent supporter of school choice because I believe every child, regardless of income level or adverse situation, should have access to the educational setting that best fits them.
While that principle is enough, as a fiscal conservative, I am also sensitive to financial impacts. As you will see, a scholarship tax credit program like LB753 is a wise fiscal approach to achieving educational opportunity.
Opponents of LB753 claim that this bill takes money away from the public schools and reduces the state's budget. As the budget shrinks public schools might suffer, their argument goes.
Yet, Nebraska currently has over 30 tax credit programs and most of those are not opposed by these same groups. Most importantly, the data just doesn’t support the opponents claims. As a matter of fact, it refutes it.
According to EdChoice, there have been 73 separate fiscal analyses conducted on private school choice programs in the United States. Of those, 68 found the programs generated net savings for the state and four of them found the programs were cost neutral.
Tax credit scholarship programs currently exist in 21 other states, have a long track record and the data is clear. Numerous independent studies confirm the net savings these programs produce. For instance, Florida's Tax Credit Scholarship Program is one of the nation’s most established and studied. This program saved $1.44 in state revenue for every dollar of tax credit.
Furthermore, the average cost to educate one student in Nebraska’s public schools is now over $14,000. When one considers that the average tax credit scholarship nationally is just over $4,000 we are talking about a $10,000 cost savings per student.
Another way to look at this is to consider that the state spends over $1 billion on education. While LB753 Opportunity Scholarships is not a part of our public school funding, it does provide a tax incentive that is less than 2.5% of what we invest in public education. LB753 could grow over time, but as it does the cost savings to the state increases. Those dollars could be used to support public education.
Ultimately, the concern that this is going to cut state revenues and/or hurt public schools has been proven false. As a matter of fact, EdChoice also reports that 25 of 28 studies show that students in school choice states who remain in public schools improve their academic performance.
Speaking of public school funding, I have made a commitment to support Gov. Jim Pillen’s education plan by introducing LB681, which would appropriate $1.75 billion to a new K-12 Education Future Fund over the next four years. This incredible amount of additional money for public schools makes their opposition to the educational choice for vulnerable students all the more unreasonable.
Educational opportunity is a right families deserve. Our state supports the premise financially at the early childhood and college levels. LB753 extends that right to the K-12 level and it does so responsibly. I was happy to co-sponsor the bill and look forward to seeing Nebraska catch up with nearly every other state in the country by providing more school choice.
This opinion originally appeared in Lincoln Journal Star