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Florida Offering a Secret Corporate Tax-Credit Voucher Model for the Nation?
Our position: Florida's program of corporate tax-credit vouchers is way too secret.

Corporate tax dollars send more than 15,000 low-income kids in Florida to private and parochial schools. And the state hasn't a clue what's happening to those kids.

Florida's tax-credit voucher program lets companies receive tax credits totaling $50 million a year for every dollar they donate to five private organizations. Those organizations then grant private-school vouchers to low-income kids.

The state knows the names of companies receiving the tax credits and the five organizations. But it doesn't know which students receive the vouchers or which private schools they attend, much less how well those schools serve their students. That's all secret.

Sally Simmons, director of one of the five organizations, Children First Central Florida, explains that many schools don't want to release their names. "They're all very concerned about legislative intervention or government intervention."

But any entity accepting public support should accept the tradeoff of public accountability. That's good stewardship of tax dollars and the state's responsibility for education.

Yet Florida agrees with program leaders that all oversight should be in the hands of parents, many of whom must pay extra for tuition in addition to the voucher.

Perhaps Florida looks the other way because this program saves it money. Each $3,500 voucher is considerably less than the $5,631 average the state spends to educate each child. That's especially alluring now that Florida must reduce class sizes, but it's no good reason to divert public money to a secret, unaccountable program.


— Editorial
Where Is the Accountability?
Orlando Sentinel
March 29, 2003
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/orl-edped292a032903mar29,0,7053725.story?coll=orl%2Dopinion%2Dheadlines

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