Tuition Tax Credits

Rep. Gregg Buxton hosted an informal gathering at his home to discuss tuition tax credits (“TTC”). TTC advocates (Utah Education Excellence and the Utah Taxpayers Association) and opponents (superintendents and representatives from school districts and the Utah Education Association) had a lively and good discussion, focusing mainly on a Utah State/Southern Utah University finding that TTC would save between hundreds-of-millions to over a billion dollars.

The discussion is maturing a bit, moving from raw, fatalistic rhetoric toward a more substantive analysis. Two key points on this debate are (1) we need to focus broadly on improving education, not on protecting or promoting any particular educational agenda, and (2) regarding financing issues, we need to understand that a balance sheet has 2 sides. Though this latter point seems obvious, I have seen many very intelligent people grab the cost side and completely write off the financial benefits side of the ledger.

Actually, a third point — everyone needs to come to the table. I applaud those who constructively engage in the dialogue. It is very complex, but opportunities do exist to simultaneously advance education and meet the public’s desire for choice, if we stay at the table and figure it out.

One interesting tidbit from the discussion was the Utah Taxpayer Association’s analysis that districts with declining enrollment are managing the situation well and, rather than financially struggling, they actually are providing more money per student than are the growing districts ($400 more per student). I couldn’t link directly to their report, but it can be found here and, then, go to the July 2004 issue.