Letter: Tuition tax break is bad legislation
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As a part of his budget, Gov. Bobby Jindal is proposing (House Bill 16) an income tax deduction of up to 50 percent of tuition (not to exceed $5,000) for attendance at private schools and for parents who teach their children at home.
This is slightly more than the bill that Rep. Hunter Greene, R-Baton Rouge, introduced last year, which was vetoed by Gov. Kathleen Blanco. It was bad legislation last year, and there is no reason to believe that another year changes the situation.
Rep. Greene states: “I don’t think that a $20 million bill … will in any way affect the priorities or the commitment that the Legislature has (for the public school system).”
I’m sure the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education would disagree and can find many places to use $20 million that would have a positive impact on the public schools.
I was educated in the public schools in Connecticut through grade eight. When my parents chose to send me to a Catholic high school, they paid the full cost of my education. My father was a blue-collar worker, and my mother stayed at home to raise my brother and me.
He never made a lot of money as a printer, but they sacrificed where necessary to provide me with that kind of education. There was no credit, deduction or any other kind of tax break. They did it because of their values and didn’t ask for help from anyone.
This bill is nothing more than a voucher program disguised as tax deduction. If citizens of this state choose to send their children to a private school or home-school them, then the parents should pay the full cost. I have no sympathy for anyone who makes this choice and do not want my tax dollars going to support their lifestyle.
With the state of Louisiana having an educational system that is struggling to succeed and improve, we do not need to divert our limited funds to private schools that do not come under the testing and rigorous requirements that the public schools have to comply with.
Donald Frattini
retired union organizer
Baton Rouge
This is slightly more than the bill that Rep. Hunter Greene, R-Baton Rouge, introduced last year, which was vetoed by Gov. Kathleen Blanco. It was bad legislation last year, and there is no reason to believe that another year changes the situation.
Rep. Greene states: “I don’t think that a $20 million bill … will in any way affect the priorities or the commitment that the Legislature has (for the public school system).”
I’m sure the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education would disagree and can find many places to use $20 million that would have a positive impact on the public schools.
I was educated in the public schools in Connecticut through grade eight. When my parents chose to send me to a Catholic high school, they paid the full cost of my education. My father was a blue-collar worker, and my mother stayed at home to raise my brother and me.
He never made a lot of money as a printer, but they sacrificed where necessary to provide me with that kind of education. There was no credit, deduction or any other kind of tax break. They did it because of their values and didn’t ask for help from anyone.
This bill is nothing more than a voucher program disguised as tax deduction. If citizens of this state choose to send their children to a private school or home-school them, then the parents should pay the full cost. I have no sympathy for anyone who makes this choice and do not want my tax dollars going to support their lifestyle.
With the state of Louisiana having an educational system that is struggling to succeed and improve, we do not need to divert our limited funds to private schools that do not come under the testing and rigorous requirements that the public schools have to comply with.
Donald Frattini
retired union organizer
Baton Rouge
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