ACTION ALERT - 2/11/2011
Support School Choice Bill
A new bill introduced in the
Pennsylvania Senate has the potential to make private schools,
including Catholic schools, affordable for many more families.
Senate Bill 1 – the Opportunity Scholarship Act – proposes
a significant increase to the Education Improvement Tax Credit
(EITC) program, thus making more scholarships available to
qualified students. This program enables businesses to receive
state tax credits for contributions to scholarship organizations,
and these contributions in turn are used to provide tuition
assistance.
Since EITC began in 2001, more than $8.5 million has been
donated to the Diocese of Scranton Scholarship Foundation,
resulting in tuition assistance to more than 8,000 eligible
students enrolled in our Catholic schools.
How You Can Help
Bishop Bambera is asking for your
help to get Senate Bill 1 passed. The next committee that
will consider this bill is the Senate Appropriations Committee.
There are six members of this committee who serve constituents
in the Diocese of Scranton: Senators David Argall, Lisa Baker,
John Blake, Lisa Boscola, John Gordner and Joseph Scarnati.
Please visit, call, write or e-mail these Senators, and all
your state legislators, and ask them to support the Opportunity
Scholarship Act – SB 1. Following is a sample message:
“I am one of your constituents, and I urge you to support
the Opportunity Scholarship Act – SB 1. It’s very important
to me that you vote in favor of this bill so that families
have the opportunity to choose the best school for their children.
Please tell me how you intend to vote on this matter. Thank
you.”
For contact information for the six local members of the Senate
Appropriations Committee and all state legislators in the
Diocese of Scranton, please click on:
Support School Choice Bill
Bill Genello
Executive Director of Communications
Editor, The Catholic Light
Diocese of Scranton
300 Wyoming Avenue
Scranton, PA 18503
570-207-2229
fax: 207-2271
William-Genello@dioceseofscranton.org
School Choice Action Alert - January 26,
2011
Here’s your chance to speak
out for school choice! School choice will be the featured
topic on the Pennsylvania Cable Network’s (PCN) call-in show
tonight (Wednesday, January 26, 2011) at 7pm. The guest speakers
are Senator Anthony Williams (D-Philadelphia), one of the
architects of the Opportunity Scholarship Act – Senate Bill
1, and Thomas Gentzel, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania
School Boards Association (PSBA).
Please call in with your supportive questions regarding SB
1. It would be great to have a strong showing; opponents will
no doubt have their members calling in in numbers. The call
in number is 1-877-726-5001. Below are some main talking points
you can discuss, but feel free to add your own personal story
to your questions and comments.
Senate Bill 1 Opportunity Scholarship Grants: The right choice
for Pennsylvania ’s future
Providing a quality education for our children is the most
critical investment we can make for our future. Pennsylvania
needs a more effective and less costly way to educate our
children. The Opportunity Scholarship Grant program in SB
1 is the right choice for Pennsylvania ’s future.
School choice saves tax dollars
Non-public schools provide an excellent education, often for
a fraction of the cost of educating the same child in a public
school.
* Average annual public school
spending per pupil is $13,907 (2008-2009); the base cost of
the state’s subsidy per pupil is $8,950.
* Average non-public school tuition is $3,500 (elementary)
and $6,500 (high school).
* Opportunity Scholarship Grants will not exceed actual tuition
paid; the difference between the scholarship amount and the
base cost of the state subsidy will be returned to the state
coffers.
Non-public schools already save
tax dollars. If every one of Pennsylvania’s 287,092 nonpublic
school students returned to public school, the costs would
be significant – 287,092 x $13,907 = $3.9 billion annually
(not counting construction costs).
School choice works
School choice has been tried and tested in other states.
* Parents in Milwaukee , Wisconsin
have had school choice for 20 years. Eligible low-income families
may send their children to a participating private school
of their choice within the city limits. In 2010, more than
20,000 students participated in the program.
* Cleveland, Ohio has had school choice for 15 years. More
than 5,000 students are participating. Ohio expanded its voucher
program statewide in 2005. Now more than 13,000 students are
attending the school of their choice.
* Louisiana has a new voucher program for low-income students
in failing school districts.
* Nationwide there are 26 programs in 14 states that provide
school choice through vouchers or tax credit scholarships.
Studies show school choice makes
a difference.
* The Manhattan Institute for
Policy Research studied voucher programs including Milwaukee
to address whether school choice improves outcomes for students
using the vouchers. They found significant positive results,
particularly for African-American students. Additional studies
by Harvard, Stanford, the Federal Reserve Bank and other institutions
confirmed this finding.
Parents want school choice.
The public supports parental choice.
Recent polls in Pennsylvania surveyed parents’ attitudes toward
their children’s education. Overwhelmingly, parents say they
wish they had more choices.
* In November 2010 Pew Research
Foundation survey, 62% of parents in Philadelphia public schools
said they have actively considered sending their children
to charter, Catholic or private schools.
Taxpayers favor education vouchers,
too.
* In another November 2010
poll, half of Pennsylvanians said they support and another
20% are undecided about education vouchers which help parents
pay the costs at the school of their choice (Pulse Opinion
Research).
All parents should be able to
choose a school that best suits their children. Financial
realities often preclude parents from having that choice.
Parents who pay their school taxes deserve some benefit from
those taxes, in the form of some assistance in the exercise
of their right to choose a nonpublic school, if that is best
for their children. The Opportunity Scholarship Grant program
in SB 1 is a step in the right direction toward expanding
those opportunities to more parents.
Thank you,
Sean P. McAleer, MGA
Director of Education
PA Catholic Conference
PO Box 2835
Harrisburg , PA 17105
717.238.9613 Office
717.514.1882 Cell
717.238.1473 Fax
www.pacatholic.org
For more details contact Sean P. McAleer,
Director of Education at 717-238-9613 or smcaleer@pacatholic.org.
School Choice Action Alert - January 7,
2011
The time to act is now!!! A co-sponsorship
memo regarding Senate Bill 1 (School Choice legislation) was
circulated to all Senators. Senators Jeffery E. Piccola (R-Dauphin)
and Anthony H. Williams (D-Philadelphia) are seeking co-sponsors
for SB 1. Please visit, call, write or fax your Senator immediately
and ask them to consider co-sponsoring SB 1, or follow the
link below right now to send a convenient e-mail message directly
to him or her.
Senate Bill 1:
* Includes scholarships for
both public-to-public and public-to-private school choice.
* Provides scholarships for low income students, so they can
attend the school of their choice.
* Includes a phased in three year approach that is fiscally
responsible.
* Allows private and Catholic schools to keep their identities.
* Includes an EITC funding increase bringing the program to
$100 million.
For more details contact Sean P. McAleer,
Director of Education at 717-238-9613 or smcaleer@pacatholic.org.
Click the link below to log in and send your message:
http://www.votervoice.net/link/target/pacc/yMNbM2Nr.aspx
