Legislators Ask OPPAGA To Revisit Corporate Income Tax Credit Scholarship Report
Dec 16, 2008
In response to a report issued today, December 16, 2008 by the Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (“OPPAGA”), two Florida legislators issued the following media releases:
Senate Democratic Leader Al Lawson Calls on OPPAGA to Revisit Corporate Voucher Findings
TALLAHASSEE – Concerned that a government watchdog report was “narrow and limited,” Senate Democratic Leader Al Lawson (D-Tallahassee) on Monday, December 15, 2008 asked the Senate President that the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) revisit its findings on the merits of the state corporate voucher program and extend the scope of its examination.
“I am a supporter of school choice and the corporate income tax credit scholarship program as well as the excellent evaluation work of OPPAGA. But, I have serious concerns about this report which finds that state dollars are “saved” by the scholarship program,” Senator Lawson wrote in a letter sent Monday to the Senate President.
At issue is OPPAGA’s report released Tuesday which claims that the Corporate Income Tax Credit Scholarship Program actually produces a net savings to the state, accounting for some $118 million in FY 2007-2008.
Lawson questioned the accuracy of dubbing the money “savings” while at the same time “OPPAGA also makes the statement that due to the scholarship program, the state “avoided $118.1 million education spending.
“…OPPAGA’s report only tells part of the story by simply focusing on the fiscal impact of the scholarship program on state spending. By not spending any education funds as a result of the scholarship program, public education is and will continue to be adversely impacted and result in an outcome which we cannot afford in these difficult economic times.”
He also noted his concern over the “limitations placed upon OPPAGA that fail to provide us with a more comprehensive analysis of the total impacts upon the public school system when we “save” an additional $118 million…”
The Democratic Leader urged the Senate President to send OPPAGA back to the drawing board.
“I hope you will join me…in directing OPPAGA to undertake a follow up report…with an analysis of the full impact of budget reductions to the public schools…,” he wrote. “I also expect that the agency provide us with recommendations that would produce a net fiscal impact on state revenue and expenditures such that we do no further harm to the public schools.”
State Representative Martin Kiar, Democratic Ranking Member, Pre-K-12 Policy Committee, issued the following statement:
“Today’s OPPAGA report fails to examine the true financial costs of private school vouchers on school districts and the majority of Florida’s students.
“The Legislature should demand a more honest report card on vouchers. I will ask OPPAGA to conduct a more complete review of the program.
“The report should have looked at how the program interferes with the constitutional duty of the Legislature to provide an adequate education to all students. To do that, it should examine the effect on students who remain in public schools.
“Instead, the report offers little more than second-grade math. It’s not sufficient to conclude that the state spends less by giving a child up to $3,950 a year to attend a private school. That’s forgetting the fact that when a student takes a voucher, schools lose precious money for all students. The state allocates $6,987, on average, for a student to attend public school.
“It is imperative that our state provide all of our children with the best education possible. As a result, OPPAGA must reevaluate its report using a much more thorough and fair methodology.”
A letter from Representative Kiar and a copy of the OPPAGA Report are attached for your review.