Napolitano Hates Children (or Arizona Governor Vetoes Tax Breaks for Corporate Donations to Private Schools)

Today, Arizona Governor Janet “I am Governor, Hear Me Roar” Napolitano vetoed HB 2004, a bill that would have provided corporate income tax breaks to corporations contributing to student tuition organizations designed to finance private school educations for children of low-income families.

I liked this bill and the way it addressed privatization of education by encouraging its funding by those who arguably benefit the most from quality education: businesses who hire the graduates of our schools. Like school vouchers, it potentially leveled the playing field of access to private schools by providing a funding source for low-income families who could otherwise not afford private schooling. It began to attack one of the largest problems (and source of problems) in the US – the state’s near monopoly on education, and the inability of parents to choose the type of education their children will receive. Taxpayers would benefit – every student who leaves the public education system is one less student the taxpayers need to bankroll.

This bill was a rare one – seemingly everybody wins. The taxpayers save money. Businesses can elevate the education of future employees. Parents can choose their kids’ schools. Kids can get a better education. Low-income kids could have access to private schools.

“Napolitano’s veto letter for the new tuition tax credit bill stated that its passage was premature because the measure should be considered anew as part of work on the next state budget, spokeswoman Jeanine L’Ecuyer said Wednesday.” (AZ Central Article)

J.Nap’s excuse is carefully worded and devoid of any meaning. There’s no surprise there: J.Nap knows that school choice is a popular issue with Arizona voters. By taking an actual position on the issue, she faced the potential alienation of a lot of voters.

The statist arguments against HB 2004 are more clearly spelled out in Mike McClellan’s blog on AZCentral in which he calls HB 2004 “tuition tax fraud.” Mike is (surprise surprise) a public school teacher. Indicative of the quality of public school education in Arizona, Mike’s arguments against HB 2004 are weak, but I’ll briefly refute them here.

1. Private schools can choose who they take – many have entrance exams that will block some students from entering the school.

Mike’s correct: private schools can choose the students they accept. Some students may not qualify for their first choice school. The real point he’s making here is that some students may not have access to private schools even with the corporate funding – that the bill would create a class divide in education. That’s absolutely incorrect. If private schools become affordable to a significant portion of the population, then more private schools will emerge. These schools will assuredly serve different market segments. There will be prep schools, technical schools, art schools, religious schools, atheist schools, and schools that just provide a decent basic education. There will even be schools that specifically serve challenged students – those students who Mike claims won’t have access to private schooling. The opposite is true. Schools will be better able to serve a variety of students in a manner far more effecting than the current one-size-fits-all public school system.

2. Even if they can attend the school, the tuition might not cover all the costs the student will incur – books, uniforms, other fees. If the schools won’t waive those costs – and many can’t afford to do that – the student’s family might not be able to make up the difference.

Certainly some private schools will be more expensive than the tuition grants can cover. However, many more will design their tuition structure specifically to stay within the limits covered by the tuition grants. It is absurd to think that schools would deliberately price themselves out of the market. If the demand exists, private schools are going to find a way to meet that demand and earn those tuition dollars.

3. And here’s the big one: Republicans apparently believe there are quality private schools everywhere. They oughta take a more careful look. While Phoenix and Tucson have plenty of private schools – some far too expensive for the Republican plan, by the way – that is not the case in the rest of the state.

Do you see a trend here? The answer to this last argument is the same as the answers to the previous two. Tuition grants will create demand for private schools. New private schools will emerge to meet that demand and collect that grant money. This is basic economics.

Perhaps statists like Mike McClellan and Janet Napolitano have become so blinded by the entrenched near-monopoly of public schooling that they are unable to fathom that when a free market emerges for education, then market forces will solve the problems that have otherwise plagued public schools.

Or perhaps there’s more to it than that. Even for a public school teacher, Mike’s arguments are pretty weak. Could it be that some extremely influential, well-funded leftist group opposes the very notion of the widespread emergence of private schools? Here’s a hint: consider the effect on teacher’s unions when private schools no longer need to hire union members or teachers who meet artificial union standards for teachers.

Arizona Watch has written more on private schools and school vouchers here.