Sen. Jim Forsythe - Making school choice a reality in New Hampshire

When I campaigned for N.H. Senate, a key issue that I consistently advocated was on providing school choice to parents. I am now planning to deliver on my campaign promise by sponsoring SB-327/HB-1607, which would provide tax credits to support education choice.

I grew up in South Carolina where many of the public schools were in pretty rough shape, and the quality of education was quite poor. My mother had worked in the public school systems and knew this first hand, and chose to send me to a private school. I've often wondered how differently things could have gone for me if I hadn't had that advantage. It has struck me as unfair ever since that I had that advantage while families with lesser means did not.

Later, while I was in the Air Force, I got another look at school choice. An entrepreneur decided to start a scholarship program. He went to the lowest performing school in the city and offered scholarships to kids who wanted to go to private school, or get tutoring. I was completely shocked at what I saw at a meeting he had at the school. One father expressed excitement that his child who was not learning to read could get money for a tutor. Meanwhile the teachers’ reaction was incredibly hostile, lambasting a man who was digging deep into his pockets to help these poor children. If these teachers had cared more about the children than their jobs, they would have welcomed the program with open arms.

This gentleman went on to formally set up a scholarship foundation to help poor children get a quality education at the school of their choice. He hired an African-American who was very well respected in her community to be the spokesperson. After taking the job, many leaders in her community turned their backs on her. She explained to me her frustration with her ostracism, and the fact that these "leaders" were really just out to protect their power base and didn't want to help the children out. Fortunately many teachers are not like this – they are either confident enough in their work to not be worried by competition, or are frustrated by what they are seeing in their particular school and are sympathetic to the program (some even send their children to private school).

As a legislator, I am seeing the protectionist attitude first hand, and it's incredibly frustrating. Study after study show school choice works — not only to improve the education of the child receiving the scholarship, but for the public school that now has to compete on a more even playing field. Poll after poll also shows that school choice programs are very popular amongst parents. And tax credit programs, unlike vouchers, are programs where the government never takes the money in taxes to begin with, so they are on very sound constitutional grounds with respect to public money not being spent on religious organizations.

Many of the staunchest opponents of school choice have made all sorts of false claims. Rather than refute their issues one by one, it would be more productive to simply explain what SB-327/HB-1607 propose to do. A business would be able to donate to a scholarship organization (SO), which would be 501(c) 3’s registered with the state. In return, they would get an 85-percent tax credit against either the Business Profits Tax or the Business Enterprise Tax. Meanwhile the SO's would give out scholarships with an average size of $2,500 to children attending a private school, or an out of district public school. For children switching from public to private school, the state adequacy aid to the towns (it averages $4,100 per child, much less than the $14,500 average spent in total) would go away since that town is no longer educating that child. The size of the program is initially capped at a size that is less than a third of a percent of the total funds spent on public secondary education!

The reality is that wealthy or middle class families are already able to send their kids to private schools if they chose. This means-tested program would extend that option to people of lesser means. Isn’t it time that N.H. extended school choice to people who can’t afford it? The majority of public schools that are doing a great job shouldn’t feel threatened by the program. But for children who may be falling through the cracks, this program could be a lifesaver.

(Republican Jim Forsythe of Strafford represents District 4, including Laconia, in the N.H. State Senate.)