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2002 Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Leslie Dunbar, 212-558-5438

Max Smith, 212-558-5371

NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE ASSAILS REFUNDABLE EDUCATION TAX CREDIT

AS "TROJAN HORSE" THAT COULD DESTROY PUBLIC EDUCATION

New York, NY, Feb. 27, 2002–National Urban League president Hugh B. Price expressed strong opposition today to the Bush Administration’s proposed refundable education tax credit, likening it to a "Trojan Horse" that could destroy public education, and decrying the use of federal tax expenditure resources to support it.

"The tax credits function as a voucher. It is a not-so-veiled attempt to circumvent the current court challenges of using government funding for vouchers on the basis of the constitutional wall separating church and state," Mr. Price said.

"The League fully understands why dissatisfied parents are drawn to education vouchers and tax credits that help them pay for alternatives to public schools that are performing poorly. We call for parents, employers and community groups to apply unrelenting pressure on public schools to improve.

We think the President is on target in providing the tax credit to help parents choose alternative public schools to failing schools — either for public charter schools, out-of-district-expenses, or the costs of transportation to another public school — but we do not support it for covering costs of a private elementary or secondary education."

But Mr. Price warned that the risks posed by vouchers and tax credits far outweigh the benefits. The perils include:

Potential Death Knell for Universal Free Public Education: The value of the tax credit, up to $2,500 per child, may be modest and the beneficiaries may be tightly targeted in the beginning to only those attending failing schools. But if and when it\'s liberalized as more and more parents clamor for the tax subsidy, it could eventually leave public education worse off. Some tax-subsidized parents will choose closed educational enclaves, namely nonpublic schools that are highly selective or that segregate or practice token integration. If increasing numbers of parents exit the public schools, poor and minority children who are not wanted by these nonpublic schools will be stranded in public schools that are woefully under-financed and stripped of resources because of the tax expenditures devoted to financing tax credits.

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Tax Credit or Trojan Horse…Page Two

Two Sides to the Size of the Credit: The education tax credit is projected to cost close to $4 billion over the 2003-2012 budget horizon. Spending a comparable amount of money on proven ways to strengthen public schools by hiring and training more qualified teachers, strengthening curriculum, expanding Head Start, fortifying early literacy efforts, reducing school and class size and modernizing school facilities could significantly improve educational outcomes for many more children without imperiling public schools. Additionally, the size of the credit, especially for low-income families, will not cover the costs for private secular schools. Thus the proposed tax credit could discriminate against poor families because their choice in reality will be limited to parochial schools.

The Illusion of Choice: Experience with vouchers shows that the much-trumpeted idea of school choice can be illusory. Realistically, most inner city children of color don\\\'t have much choice because few suburban school systems or private schools accept them. So they gravitate mostly to parochial schools and to newly created private schools with no academic track record–oddly the proposal does not speak to the academic standards that private schools must meet.

Federally Subsidized Discrimination: Parents could use their tax credits to make schools that discriminate more affordable. For example, refundable tax credits could give parents the wherewithal to enroll their youngsters in church-based schools that do not welcome children from other religions.

According to the National Urban League, a smarter and more effective way to promote education choice is to give parents a refundable housing tax credit that enables them to obtain housing in communities with strong public schools.

That is a win-win because it empowers families financially to improve their overall life circumstances along with their children’s education.

"Why not give parents a refundable tax credit to help them rent or buy housing in neighborhoods with better public schools?" Mr. Price added. "Homes in or near communities where good jobs are being created, where neighborhoods are pleasant and safe, and where the public schools work better."

Hugh B. Price is President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Urban League. He was appointed on July 1, 1994. To request a copy of his statement, The Folly of Vouchers, send an email to cjenkins@nul.org.