NYSSBA, NSBA oppose Military Education Savings Account Act |
On Board Online • April 23, 2018
By Eric D. Randall
Editor-in-Chief
NYSSBA and the National School Boards Association have joined more than 60 other organizations to oppose federal legislation that would create "education savings accounts" (ESA) for families who live on military installations and Native American lands.
"ESAs are a form of private school vouchers," said Julie M. Marlette, NYSSBA's director of governmental relations. "The proposed Military Education Savings Account Act would hijack money that currently goes directly to school districts that serve families who live on military bases, Native American reservations and other large tax-exempt lands. It is a really hurtful bill that has not been thought out at all."
In recognition of that loss of tax base for public school districts that contain military bases, Native American lands and other tax-exempt properties, Congress annually has allocated "impact aid" to 1,330 school districts serving 11 million students. The amount was $1.3 billion in 2016.
Under H.R. 5199 [sponsored by U.S. Rep. Jim Banks (R-Indiana)] and S. 2517 [sponsored by U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Nebraska)], that money would be reallocated and send to families in the form of ESAs.
About 27 school districts in New York State would be affected, including the Carthage and Indian River school districts (Fort Drum), Highland Falls (U.S. Military Academy at West Point) and Salmon River (St. Regis Mohawk Reservation). Also affected: New York City, Watertown and Hyde Park, among others.
"Diverting impact aid dollars to private school vouchers would be extremely detrimental for the school districts that rely on this funding," Marlette said. "It would also place a greater financial strain on the local community, which would be left to fund public schools with an already low level of local tax revenue."
Furthermore, Marlette said, the bill is "educationally unsound." Noting that military families tend to move around the country, schools such as Carthage, Indian River and Highland Falls are part of the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children, which is an agreement among states and school districts to have coordinated policies on enrollment, placement, attendance, eligibility, and graduation.
"Because private schools are not part of the Interstate Compact, it would be a real disservice to military families to give them vouchers to encourage them to attend private schools," Marlette said.
Also, reducing aid to school districts such as Carthage, Indian River and Highland Falls means districts would have fewer resources to help children when a parent is deployed overseas. "These districts need money for social workers, events, and community-building activities," Marlette said. "They have all the problems and issues of your average school district, then have more issues piled on top of that related to the unique nature of the military."
Then there are questions about whether the reallocated money would do anything useful for families who get checks. Most affected families would get $2,500 annually per student under the bills, and some would get $4,500.
According to 2014 data from the National Center for Education Statistics, the average price of a year of private elementary school is $7,770, and the average annual cost of private high school is $13,030.
"It is highly unlikely that $2,500 will put a private school education in reach for many military families," according to the National Coalition for Public Education, which opposes vouchers. "It is likely, however, that families could use this $2,500 to place into a 529 account, which will provide no immediate benefit to that student in the current school year." Families could also use the money for tutoring, private online learning programs, uniforms and other purposes approved by the U.S. secretary of education.
Other organizations opposing the Military Education Savings Account Act include:
- AASA: The School Superintendents Association
- American Federation of Teachers
- Council of the Great City Schools
- Federal Lands Impacted Schools Association
- National Indian Impacted Schools Association
- Military Impacted Schools Association
- National Association of Elementary School Principals
- National Rural Education Association
To contact your federal representatives to voice opposition to all voucher and ESA plans, visit NYSSBA's Action Center at goo.gl/8Rhcva .