Many Ky. families need help paying for private school. Tax credits can help.
Education has always been at the center of my life. I grew up on a farm as the oldest of five children and my parents made major sacrifices to provide me with a Catholic education. As an adult, I carried forward their love of farming and Catholic education. I am currently the principal at St. Mary’s School in Paris, Kentucky and my husband and I have our own farm in central Kentucky.
I have been blessed to give my children the same opportunity to receive a Catholic education that I had as a child. Yet, as an educator, I too often see families who see this opportunity slipping away from them. I see families every day at our school, public school teachers, nurses, firefighters, who sacrifice for their children’s education. Unfortunately, I know of others who simply can’t make it work financially even with our current financial aid programs, and as a result their children miss out on the opportunity to be in the classroom that would work best for them.
It is for this reason, I am writing in response to former Rep. Jim Wayne’s Op-Ed opposing House Bill 149. This bill would create an Education Opportunity Account program (“EOA”). An EOA program provides need-based assistance to families to help cover education related expenses. The bill could cover tuition assistance, tutoring services, therapies for students with special needs, career and technical training, dual-credit college courses and much more. EOAs would be funded through private donations and public and non-public school students would be eligible to apply.
Rep. Wayne perpetuates a myth that Catholic schools only serve wealthy families and that House Bill 149 wouldn’t help lower income families. As I said above, many of the current families at my school are sacrificing each month to meet their family’s needs. Under House Bill 149, aid would be awarded on a financial need basis. The more a family makes, the less assistance they are eligible to receive. Wealthy families are excluded from the program and a majority of the aid must go to families whose incomes are below that required for reduced lunch under the National School Lunch Program.
Kentucky families have been at a disadvantage for years. Over the last few decades, a majority of states have passed educational choice programs similar to House Bill 149. Among the seven states that border Kentucky, four are moving to pass or expand choice programs. Virginia, Indiana, Illinois, Tennessee and Ohio already have choice programs. West Virginia is poised to pass what may end up being the most expansive educational choice program in the United States.
Why are these programs spreading so rapidly? The answer is simple. Parents unsatisfied with the status quo are demanding these programs in record numbers. They are seeing the success of other states and wondering why their children are being denied the same opportunities to succeed that wealthy families often take for granted.
The Catholic faith has taught me that we need to pursue policies that empower parents to have a primary role in their children’s education. In Kentucky, wealthy parents have that right. They can afford to move the public school district that they desire or pay tuition at a non-public school. COVID-19 has shown a light on these types of situations, often seen by educators.
Rep. Wayne may claim to speak on behalf of lower income families, but the reality is that he is working to block a bill that would remove educational barriers for struggling families. If anyone is being misled, it would seem to be Rep. Wayne and not Catholics who are supporting House Bill 149. That is why I hope that the Kentucky General Assembly does the right thing and passes House Bill 149 before the close of the 2021 legislative session.
Miranda Chaplin is the principal of St. Mary Catholic School in Paris.
This story was originally published March 5, 2021 at 9:00 AM.