America's Largest Catholic Newspaper
Winter may finally be over, but Catholic schools and Catholic school families are still out in the cold as far as Gov. Cuomo and state lawmakers are concerned.
Presented with an historic opportunity to improve the lives and education of thousands of children around the state, our elected officials chose to look the other way at an Education Tax Credit proposal that would not have increased spending by one dime, but would have greatly eased the financial burden of countless families.
Instead, lawmakers adopted a $138-billion state budget that lavishes both public schools and privately owned charter schools with new and increased funding and, for charter schools, important new protections. Education aid to public school districts was increased by $1.1 billion, tuition funding for charter schools will be raised in each of the next three years and they’ll get help in finding space, and $340 million has been set aside for prekindergarten classes throughout New York.
Yet the leadership in Albany could not see its way clear to adopt a proposal that would have channeled $150 million in private money to become available for public and non-public schools alike.
That’s quite a snub, coming as it does on top of the $350-million that the state already owes Catholic schools in delinquent reimbursements going back 10 years. And, keep in mind that families who pay tuition expend some $3.8 billion each year on top of the taxes they already pay for public schools, saving the state some $9 billion annually.
It’s not, however, that we object to increases in education spending, especially if it’s targeted to help the neediest students in the poorest performing schools—students who deserve a better shot at the quality education that’s long been out of their reach.
What we do object to is the utter disregard by Albany to the tax credit proposal, a win-win proposition that would have driven private money to both public schools and scholarship-making organizations for private and parochial schools. The proposal would have created a new tax credit for those who make a charitable donation for educational purposes.
Everyone involved would have benefited from this: The public schools would get much needed extra funds for programming, and tuition-paying families—whose children might otherwise have to go to sub-par public schools—would get a break.
We’re at a loss to understand why this tax credit was left out of the budget. It had the support of 80 percent of lawmakers, of the governor, and some 80 other organizations including faith groups, business leaders and labor unions.
Indeed, in discussions between Catholic leaders and elected officials in advance of the budget, the Catholic groups were assured that the measure was safe.
At the Capitol in Albany March 18, Cardinal Dolan and the other New York state bishops met with Cuomo, Senate Co-Leader Dean Skelos, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and the Independent Democratic Conference, where the tax credit proposal was a primary focus.
Just over a week earlier, the cardinal led a gathering in Manhattan of New York City labor and business leaders, members of the faith communities, and parents and students from religious schools in a rally for the credit.
The charter school movement has made it clear that parents are demanding better educational options for their children. Families who sacrifice for private and religious schools have been making that clear for generations.
As of now, 19 other states and the District of Columbia—more than one-third of the country—provide some form of assistance to tuition-paying families. It’s time for New York to join them.
We need our outstanding Catholic schools, we need quality schools of all kinds. The commitment to provide these schools must be strong.
