Killing School Choice Hurts Poor Families

Jason Bedrick:

In her budget address before the Legislature, Gov. Maggie Hassan pledged to repeal the nascent Opportunity Scholarship Act, which grants tax credits to businesses that help low-- and middle-income students afford independent and home schooling.

If the governor's goal is saving money, as she claims, then she should oppose the repeal. The fiscal note prepared by the Department of Education states that repealing the OSA would actually cost the state half a million dollars over the next biennium.

The OSA was designed to aid low-- and middle-income families while saving money. The maximum average scholarship size is only $2,500, significantly lower than the more than $4,300 that the state allocates for each public school student, and vastly lower than the total public school spending figure of $15,758 per pupil.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at March 14, 2013 2:48 AM
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