Letters: Clearing the air over EITC programs

MIKELL'S fourth-grade teacher in North Philadelphia quit on the first day of school. The bullying and disruptive behavior made learning impossible and prompted Mikell's mother to look for a new school. Then last month she learned that her daughter would be one of 2,000 Philadelphia students receiving a four-year scholarship from Children's Scholarship Fund Philadelphia to defray the cost of tuition at a private or parochial school better suited to Mikell's needs.

In Northwest Philadelphia, the Mt. Airy Schools Coalition recently granted $12,000 - funds received from Pennsylvania business owners' contributions - to six neighborhood public schools to support extracurricular activities.

What do these two stories share in common? Both are beneficiaries of the Pennsylvania Education Improvement Tax Credit programs. The programs allow Pennsylvania businesses to contribute a portion of their state tax liability to approved scholarship organizations or educational-improvement organizations, like Philadelphia Futures, Big Brothers Big Sisters and Philadelphia Reads.

All parents want their children to be in good schools. But in Philadelphia, the demand for good schools far outpaces the supply of quality seats in public schools. In the meantime, CSFP and other programs are working with businesses to offer better options for children in need.

The program works. Since 1998, CSFP has provided partial scholarships for students from low-income families to safe, quality, tuition-based schools. We have received more than 170,000 applications for 18,500 four-year scholarships. We are the state's largest provider of scholarship support for grades K-8, and we currently serve over 5,000 children in more than 185 schools who receive on average $1,750 per child, per year. Parents must be involved and contribute toward tuition. The average yearly tuition for these schools is $4,000. Scholarships are all need-based and are awarded by lottery.

When tax credits are awarded to businesses that donate to an organization like ours, it's fair to ask how these dollars are being spent, and we should all demand accountability and measureable results. CSFP has been measuring outcomes for more than 10 years, and the evidence demonstrates that our children succeed when provided the opportunity to do so. With an average family income of $29,000, CSFP children go on to graduate high school at rates greater than 96 percent. This is in stark contrast to the public school rate, which is less than 65 percent.

As a leading scholarship organization, CSFP requires funded schools to submit annual verification documents in support of the following criteria: accreditation by a nationally recognized educational organization; enrollment of more than 50 children; verifiable results of standardized student testing; and documented financial statements.

We disagree with those who complain that the EITC program hurts Philadelphia public schools by taking needed dollars. Every Philadelphia student who leaves the district for a private school provides a financial benefit to the district. There are no "phantom costs" that the district must incur with that student transfer, and the district still gets to retain the full funding. With 5,000 children receiving CSFP scholarships, the savings to the district are substantial. Most important, the program pays dividends for years to come, in the form of additional future tax revenues from children now capable of successful outcomes in the job market.

In the midst of this critically important mayoral election, we urge candidates and the public to judge the merits of tax-credit programs like EITC based on what's best for children like Mikell and thousands of others.

EITC programs create opportunities today for students in the poorest-performing public schools to have a better chance. That's something Philadelphians can rally around.