Pennsylvania senators OK spending more taxpayer money to make private school affordable

FROM THE EXPRESS TIMES

Pennsylvania state senators have given their approval to a major proposal to spend more taxpayer money to help families afford the cost of private or parochial school tuition for their children.

The Republican-controlled chamber voted 27-22 on today after defeating Democratic amendments during four-plus hours of debate.The bill heads to the House of Representatives, where its future is uncertain and Republican leaders may have different ideas. And while the bill was written to win Gov. Tom Corbett's support, the Republican governor hasn't endorsed it.

An earlier version of the legislation with a more expensive and wider-ranging voucher program stalled last spring in the Senate.

This bill would make thousands of low-income children living within the attendance boundaries of 143 low-performing public schools, primarily in Philadelphia, eligible for taxpayer help.

SCHOOL VOUCHERS:
The Allentown School District is home to at least one of 143 schools that meet the definition of the lowest performing in the bill passed today by the state Senate.

Here is the approximate amount of a voucher an ASD student could use to pay for tuition to a private or parochial school under the proposal:
• $5,870 (for families making up to $29,000)
• $4402 (for families making between $29,000 and $41,000) The bill’s chief sponsor, Education Committee Chairman Jeffrey Piccola, R-Dauphin, called the bill the most significant effort at education reform in well over a decade in Pennsylvania.

But opponents warned that it is a badly flawed and unconstitutional product that will do nothing to help the vast majority of children in struggling public schools.

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