Kansas Senate Education Committee has a hearing scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 28 on SB 75, this year's first iteration of a school voucher-style bill.
We submitted testimony opposing this bill, which you can read in full below. An outline of our concerns:
SB 75 would divert tax money to private schools that are not required to be accredited resulting in the State abdicating its responsibility to students and taxpayers to oversee use of tax dollars.
SB 75 does not provide for any infrastructure to support students and families that is present in public schools.
SB 75 provides that an individual would get credit on their state taxes for services they have chosen not to use; this is a very slippery slope.
SB 75 provides not only an individual income tax refund/credit but goes a leap farther in refunding tuition costs that would come from income taxes paid by OTHER taxpayers.
The fallacy that "dollars should follow the student" has been perpetuated by those who support diversion of tax money away from public schools, and is NOT how school funding works.
Blue Valley Schools are the economic driver of our area. Any policy that removes funding from public schools is harmful to our community and to Kansas overall.
SB 75 provides for NO public oversight or accountability as to how the tax money is spent.
Read SB 75 here:
The Blue Valley-area Senate Education Committee member is TJ Rose; here is his email address: TJ.Rose@senate.ks.gov. We encourage you to email Sen. Rose to share your opposition to tax money going to private schools. Feel free to use any of the above points.
Please CC Shawnee Mission-area Sen. Dinah Sykes on any email you send regarding Senate Education Committee matters: Dinah.Sykes@senate.ks.gov. Sen. Sykes is the ranking minority member on the committee and is a longtime education advocate. She wants to stay informed of public comments from Blue Valley voters as well.
Comments