School
choice program throws
7th birthday bash
By Lou Baldwin
Special to The CS&T
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s groundbreaking EITC (Educational
Improvement Tax Credit) program threw a seventh birthday party in Harrisburg
on May 6 and more than 2,600 people came to celebrate — including
seven buses of people representing Catholic schools in the Philadelphia
Archdiocese.
Under EITC, as pioneered in Pennsylvania and copied elsewhere, businesses
donate to organizations that either give grants for nonpublic school scholarships
or grants for public school improvement programs. In return, the companies
receive a Pennsylvania state tax credit that almost equals their donation.
“Having over 2,600 students, parents and teachers all gathered at
the Capitol to celebrate the message of the EITC program sends a clear
and strong message to the members of the legislature that school choice
is working in Pennsylvania,” said Andrew T. LeFevre, executive director
of the Harrisburg-based REACH (Road to Educational Freedom through Choice)
Alliance, an organizer of the event.
“Legislators from both parties should be commended for their strong
support for the EITC program, and the choices and chances it provides
to students and families all across the Commonwealth,” LeFevre added.
Since 2001, according to REACH statistics, $360 million, donated by 3,200
businesses, has benefited more than 158,000 children. This year alone,
44,000 children have been assisted.
In response to the success of the program, state authorization for the
tax credits totaled $75 million this year. It’s not too late for
companies to participate, according to Stacy Henninger, director of communications
for REACH. She said $8.6 million in tax credits are still available.
Generally speaking, a company receives a 75 percent tax credit for a one-year
commitment to the program, and a 90 percent tax credit for a two-year
commitment. The credit is technically limited to $200,000, but large corporations
that operate through multiple subsidiary corporations may receive the
credit for each.
There are also exceptions for contributions for pre-K programs that receive
an even more generous tax credit.
In the Philadelphia Archdiocese, the principal conduit for such grants
is BLOCS (Business Leadership Organized for Catholic Schools). This school
year, BLOCS received and distributed $2.3 million in grants from EITC
funds, according to associate director Christina DiMichele.
“Pennsylvania’s EITC program is very valuable to our families
and critical in helping to sustain the current enrollment in our schools,”
DiMichele said. “Without the support of the legislature and contributions
from participating companies, BLOCS would not be able to assist the thousands
of families it does each year,” she added.
Among the archdiocesan contingent in Harrisburg for the EITC birthday
party were two buses of students, parents and teachers from West Grove’s
217-pupil Assumption B.V.M. School. They were there, explained Assumption’s
principal, Danielle White, because students Ryan Wiesenberg, grade seven,
and Kyle Wiesenberg, grade three, were to be honored for a Power Point
presentation they created about the EITC program.
“They did a beautiful job, and we are proud of them,” White
said. “The financial burden of Catholic education excludes some
families from our schools, and EITC offers parents the opportunity to
send their children to the schools.”
Lou Baldwin is a member of St. Leo Parish and a freelance writer.