The following information comes directly from NJEA.
Click here to log on to their site for more information.

Q & A on the Lesniak Tax Credit Voucher Bill

Q: What is the Lesniak tax credit/voucher bill?

A: Filed by state Sen. Raymond J. Lesniak (D-Union), S-1607 seeks to establish the first voucher law in New Jersey history. It would create a five-year pilot program to provide corporate tax credits to pay for “scholarships” to send students in seven districts to private and religious schools – and to out-of-district public schools willing and able to accept them. The bill is being heard in the Senate Economic Growth Committee, which is chaired by Sen. Lesniak.

Q: Why isn’t the bill being heard in the Education Committee?

A: Almost identical legislation was introduced in December 2005. It was initiated by Excellent Education for Everyone (“E3”), the Newark-based pro-voucher organization. Both Senate and Assembly versions were referred to their respective Education Committees, but the chairs of those committees wuld not post those bills for a hearing due to lack of support.

Q: So what is an education bill doing in the Economic Growth Committee?

A: That’s a good question. Sen. Lesniak has renamed the bill, calling it the “Urban Enterprise Zone Jobs Scholarship Act,” claiming that since well-educated citizens are central to a healthy economy, S-1607 belongs before his committee.

Q: What are the seven pilot districts?

A: The bill would apply to students in Camden, Elizabeth, Lakewood, Newark, Orange, Paterson, and Trenton.

Q: Who will get the scholarships?

A: The bill requires 75 percent of the “scholarships” to go to students currently enrolled in public schools. That means 25 percent of the “scholarships” will go to students already attending private and religious schools. The household income of students receiving “scholarships” may not exceed 2.5 times the federal poverty level.

Q: Why does NJEA oppose the Lesniak tax credit/voucher bill?

A: It would strip $360 million in tax revenue from our already-shortchanged state budget over five years, and send that money to private and religious schools. NJEA has always opposed the use of public funds for private schools. The money to fund the bill would almost certainly be taken out of funding for public schools, leaving students in the seven pilot districts – whose public schools are already struggling – with even less in the way of resources.

Q: But aren’t the “scholarships” funded by corporate contributions?

A: No. That’s one of the misleading assertions being made by supporters of S-1607. In fact, under this legislation, corporations are merely vehicles for the transfer of state tax dollars to private and religious schools.

Q: Then how does S-1607 really work?

A: Corporations would be able to get a dollar-for-dollar tax credit for contributions they make to a state-run “Corporate Tax Credit Scholarship Fund,” which would be used to provide “scholarships” to students in the seven pilot districts. The money would be sent to county “scholarship organizations” which would allocate tuition for students to attend private and religious schools. This would cost corporations absolutely nothing, since every dollar they contribute would be subtracted from their annual state tax payment in the form of a tax credit.

Q: How would this hurt New Jersey public schools?

A: Again, this five-year pilot program would drain $360 million from the State Treasury at a time when public schools are already struggling for adequate resources. The Legislature would almost certainly cut funding for public schools by $360 million to pay for this program – as opposed to cutting from health care, law enforcement, highway maintenance, or environmental cleanup projects.

Q: Have other states passed similar legislation?

A: Yes. Arizona, Florida, and Pennsylvania have enacted similar laws. The Arizona law has cost taxpayers $494 million in lost tax revenue; the Florida law $440 million; and the Pennsylvania law $333 million.

Q: How much will each “scholarship” be worth?

A: The legislation stipulates that individual “scholarships” for elementary (K-8) students are limited to 40% of the average elementary per pupil cost in the seven pilot districts, while those for high school (grades 9-12) students will be limited to 59% of the comparative cost per pupil in the seven pilot districts. Private and religious schools that enroll students under the program must accept these “scholarships” as “payment in full” for tuition.

Q: Aren’t private school tuitions much higher than that?

A: In exclusive independent private schools, they are. But tuitions at religious schools – and Catholic parochial schools in particular – are much lower.

Q: How would students qualify for these “scholarships”?

A: The law says that in the event more children apply for admission than there are openings at an eligible school, the school must determine “through a lottery which children are selected for admission, except that preference for enrollment may be given to siblings of students who are enrolled in the eligible school.”

Q: Don’t private and religious schools discriminate in their admission policies?

A: Yes, they do. Private and religious schools routinely discriminate in their admissions on the basis of race, gender, religion, academic ability, special needs, family background, and disciplinary history. The Lesniak bill does stipulate that eligible schools will not discriminate in their admission policies “on the basis of intellectual or athletic ability, measures of achievement or aptitude, status as a handicapped person, proficiency in the English language, or any other basis that would be illegal if used by a school district….” However, there is no specific requirement in the law that requires private or religious schools to accept special needs students – who comprise more than 20 percent of the student population in most urban districts.

Q: Would private and religious schools accepting these “scholarships” be held to the same accountability standards as public schools?

A: No. While the law does require non-public schools accepting “scholarships” to “administer an annual test to scholarship recipients that is aligned with the core curriculum content standards,” it does not require them to accept special needs students; to disclose their financial records; to hire certified teachers; to comply with the state Open Meeting law; nor to administer state assessments to all students.

Q: Who else is supporting this legislation?

A: Nearly identical legislation sponsored by Excellent Education for Everyone (“E3”), the Newark-based pro-voucher organization, has been tied up in the Assembly and Senate Education Committees for more than two years. E3 is closely allied with the Newark Archdiocese, which has helped organize political support for voucher legislation. In addition, E3 receives funding from various right-wing foundations, including the Milwaukee-based Bradley Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation, run by heirs to the Wal-Mart fortune, both of which are strong proponents of vouchers and privatization. The E3 website also provides links to a variety of pro-voucher, right-wing websites, including the Heritage Foundation, the Alliance for School Choice, the Center for Education Reform, and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

Q: Who is behind E3?

A: E3 was founded in 1999 by Peter Denton, a Moorestown businessman and then-Newark City Councilor (and now Mayor) Cory Booker, with active support from then-Jersey City Mayor Brett Schundler. Its executive director is former PR man Dan Gaby of West Orange. The E3 Board of Directors includes Rev. Reginald Jackson, executive director of the Black Ministers’ Council of New Jersey (although large numbers of black ministers do not support E3 and its pro-voucher policies). E3's seeks to build a coalition of urban minority parents, Catholic school and private school parents, home-schoolers, and other pro-privatization groups and individuals to demand vouchers from the Legislature.

180 West State Street
Trenton, NJ 08607-1211
(609)599-4561
www.njea.org