Enter Mr. Kelly, who claims the scholarships take “money out of public schools and giv[e] to private ones.” Sigh. The tax credits take no state money. They are a credit off an individual’s federal tax liability.
This looks like a flat-out pander to the country’s two main teachers unions as Mr. Kelly prepares a likely run for President. The National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers want to kill the tax credits because they promote competition for their monopoly over public schools.
The two unions also want to kill Arizona’s popular education savings accounts (ESAs) used by more than 100,000 children in the state. The Arizona Education Association is working to get a measure on the ballot to cripple ESAs with regulations and a $150,000 household income cap on eligibility. Mr. Kelly has accused ESAs of “busting” the state budget, though they are only about 8% of state K-12 education spending.