Voting for Vouchers

As the nucleus of the American Jewish community has long been its educational institutions, the welfare of Jewish day schools in America is of paramount importance to the community. And, considering the constant battle Jewish schools confront to make ends meet financially, the question of the government funding of private schools is a key issue for the Jewish community in the upcoming election. Schools seek supplemental funding because their cost of operation consistently exceeds revenue. Even though tuition has risen steadily in recent years, adding to the strain on day school parents, higher tuition alone cannot close the gap. Compounding the problem, the recent financial crisis makes Jewish philanthropy less reliable and increases the number of families in need of financial aid. Some feel that it's impossible to know to what extent the economic crisis will affect Jewish day schools. "It's too early to know how what is going on in the economy is going to affect people," says Aaron Keigher, Director of Communications at the Frisch Yeshiva High School in Paramus, NJ. The crisis, he claims, is "happening around us in real time," and, therefore, it is difficult to gauge its effect. While it may be too early to know definitely, the chance of a negative financial impact casts a dark shadow. Dr. Eliot Prager, Principal of the Moriah School of Englewood, NJ, says that, with regard to the possibility of a decline in donations and rise in financial aid requests, he "wouldn't use the word 'anticipating.' But are we conscious of the fact that there might be? Absolutely." Assuming that the Jewish day school system does not emerge unscathed from the crisis, the issue of government support of private schools becomes all the more relevant.

For many of those rooted in the Jewish community, Jewish day school is the only educational option considered. For these people, who are willing to absorb, within reason, the financial blow of tuition hikes, government funding has, in a sense, less significance: while funding will certainly save them money, a lack thereof probably will not deter them from sending their children to Jewish schools. For some, however, sending their children to Jewish day school is conditional. While they may prefer to send their children to Jewish schools, they are willing to consider alternatives. If tuition is too high, they may simply send their children to public school. Considering the interest of the greater Jewish community not only in supporting Jewish education financially but in availing the greater population of its benefits, government funding is critical, as it will encourage participation in Jewish education. Government can support private schools in a variety of ways. With school tax credits, the government takes a sum of tuition, determined based on tuition costs and the income of the taxpayer, and then subtracts it from total taxes owed. Simply put, every dollar of tuition a person pays - within the taxpayer's credit allowance - is one less dollar of taxes owed. Similarly, credit is sometimes offered for donations to schools or other organizations that issue scholarships, thus encouraging donation and building up funds that will ultimately lower costs for families in need. This credit exists both on the private and corporate levels. A prime example of the successful implementation of a private tax credit program is that of the state of Arizona. There, the state government allows for a tax credit of up to $1,000 for married taxpayers filing joint statements who "make cash contributions to a tuition organization that provides scholarships or grants to qualified schools." The intended effect is to encourage donations to private schools and, thereby, provide more scholarships for families in need. The program has yielded impressive results: the state of Arizona's Department of Revenue has reported that donations to private schools have more than tripled since 2000, sometimes increasing by as much as $10 million in a single year in years when the credit cap was raised. Other states have initiated tax credit programs geared towards wooing corporations to support scholarship funds. In Florida, a program called "Step Up for Students" grants tax credits to corporations for up to 75% of total taxes owed for donations to scholarship funds. Especially attractive is the $5 million credit maximum. Since its full implementation in 2002, the program has reported corporate donations totaling over $300 million, resulting in tens of thousands of scholarships.

Although these programs seem beneficial to taxpayer and student alike, they are often met with fierce opposition. Some see these programs as unconstitutional because, by supporting them, the government is essentially aiding private, often religious institutions. In 2007, the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona filed suit in the state supreme court, claiming that the state's program violates the state constitution's prohibition of imposing a tax that assists religious institutions or private schools. The program was ultimately upheld by the court since the credits are available for both private and public schools. The case was even brought to a federal court on charges that the program was a violation of the First Amendment, but again the program was upheld.

The value of school vouchers, another form of government funding for private schools, is also debated. Normally, public schools are funded directly by the government, leaving the parent with the choice between a virtually free public school and a costly private school. Vouchers alter the funding structure, distributing much, if not all, of the funds to the parent. This allows for a more varied selection of schools, as the parent can use the voucher toward private school tuition. Vouchers are particularly helpful in districts where public schools are sub-par: it compels public schools to improve in order to retain students, since parents have the option of sending their children to private school. The opposition, which consists primarily of public schools and teachers' unions, argues that vouchers are unfair to public schools and take from them much needed funding.

Senator John McCain has repeatedly voiced his support for competition between schools through school choice and vouchers. McCain's website states that he "believes our schools can and should compete to be the most innovative, flexible and student-centered… If a school will not change, the students should be able to change schools. Sen. John McCain believes parents should be empowered with school choice to send their children to the school that can best educate them just as many members of Congress do with their own children. He finds it beyond hypocritical that many of those who would refuse to allow public school parents to choose their child's school would never agree to force their own children into a school that did not work or was unsafe. They can make another choice. John McCain believes that is a fundamental and essential right we should honor for all parents." Senator Barack Obama, on the other hand, opposes vouchers. In a written response to questions posed by the American Jewish Committee posted on the organization's website, Obama wrote that "with respect to education, I believe that we need to invest in our public schools and strengthen them, not drain their fiscal support. And for this reason I do not support vouchers." In the third presidential debate, he said that, although he agrees with Senator McCain on certain educational issues, he disagrees with "the idea that we can somehow give vouchers as a way of securing the problems in our education system."

Yet, Obama has proven himself a strong advocate of some tuition tax credits. Senator Obama has proposed the "American Opportunity Tax Credit." On his website, he says that the "universal and fully refundable credit will ensure that the first $4,000 of a college education is completely free for most Americans, and will cover two-thirds the cost of tuition at the average public college or university and make community college tuition completely free for most students." However, the credit comes at a price, for "recipients of the credit will be required to conduct 100 hours of community service." McCain has made no proposal to introduce new tax credit programs. He tends to speak more about vouchers and charter schools than tax credits, which would seem to indicate that he does not plan on instituting new tax credits. He has mentioned that he will consolidate existing tax credit programs and make an effort to ensure that families are aware of the benefits they are entitled to. As he says on his website, "consolidating programs will help simplify the administration of these programs, and help more students have a better understanding of their eligibility for aid." While both candidates are certainly committed to making education more affordable, they have stressed different views as to which methods are most effective. With the shadow of the economic crisis looming overhead, it's important for the American Jewish community as well as the greater American public to determine as best it can which methods are more likely to help in the battle for affordable education.