Local private schools call on legislators to continue tax credit scholarship program

A tax credit scholarship program set to expire at year's end could potentially impact thousands of private school students in Illinois, backers say.

All told, more than 9,500 students statewide rely on the Invest in Kids program — providing 75% tax credits to those contributing to non-profit scholarship-accepting programs. The program will sunset if lawmakers do not renew it during the veto session that resumes Tuesday.

An administrator at a Catholic elementary school on Springfield's east side is concerned for a future without it.

Michael Carlson, principal at St. Patrick Catholic School, said the program covers a major portion of its $8,000 tuition with parents asked to cover the remaining $1,750. Only one of the school's 62 pre-K through fifth-grade students is not on an income-based scholarship.

"Invest in Kids is incentivizing donors to invest in our community," he said on Wednesday. The scholarships are eligible for students living in households earning less than 185% of the federal poverty level.

At Sacred Heart-Griffin High School, 21 of 525 students are either on complete or partial scholarships but another 40 are on the waitlist, according to Bill Moredock, the school's president.

Like St. Patrick's, Moredock said the school has been actively lobbying local legislators to continue the program. Reliant on funding from donors, SHG plans to increase its efforts if state funding is pulled.

Still, he is concerned those efforts will not make up for the loss.

"It may mean that certain families and students who want to come here will not have that opportunity," said Moredock, SHG president since July. "It would be a very unfortunate, negative result of the legislators who voted against this."

Lawmakers return to Springfield next week for the final days of the veto session. Several pieces of legislation have been filed that could renew the program. A 2017 initiative of former Gov. Bruce Rauner, Gov. JB Pritzker has signaled he would sign a bill into law if the legislature agreed.

Opponents such as the Illinois Education Association chastised Pritzker for his position, saying he aligns with "anti-public education" governors in other states — an assertion the Democrat governor denies. The program, IEA claims, has not buttressed affordability for lower-income families while siphoning funds from public schools.

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“I’ve always said, you know, that we're not trying to prevent people from going to private school, but I also believe in public education and want to make sure that we're funding public education, to the extent that that is possible,” Pritzker said at an unrelated event Wednesday.

Students and advocates have rallied at the Illinois State Capitol throughout the year, their voices even beaming through the House chambers and recently interrupting legislative business. Joining them in that push, so far, have mostly been Republican lawmakers, but it's Democrats — having super-majorities in both chambers — who effectively hold the keys to the program's future.

Last week, Rep. Angelica Guerrero-Cuellar, D-Chicago, filed legislation to extend the program through 2028 and lower the maximum annual allocation from the state to $50 million. House Bill 4194 also alters the amount of tax credit, providing a 100% credit for the first $5,000 an individual contributes and lower percentage credits for any donations beyond that amount.

The bill attempts to address concerns of Democrat lawmaker holdouts by encouraging individuals to invest more in students living in areas where the poverty rate exceeds 20% or more than 75% of the students qualify for free lunch. Those contributing more than $5,000 receive a tax credit of 65% if the student lives in an underserved area compared to 55% for those students outside of those regions.

At this point, the legislation's language would have to be added to another bill further in the legislative process if it is to pass before the session's scheduled Thursday adjournment. Bills are required to be read on three different days in both chambers before passing.

All seven Springfield Catholic Diocese schools in addition to other private schools such as Springfield Lutheran High School and Springfield Christian School reside in Sen. Doris Turner's district. The bill, still not advancing out of committee, has been pushed as a compromise but Turner has indicated she will not take a position until it passes the House.

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"I think that each of the chambers is very divided on it," Turner, D-Springfield, said during a recent Citizens Club of Springfield forum. "You have people that are strong proponents of it, you have people that are not and then you have people that are kind of, you know, in the middle waiting to see what's going to happen."

Republican lawmakers wanted the fiscal year 2024 budget to include funding for the program and filed several bills that would expand its funding and timeline. Party leaders, however, appear open to bipartisanship to continue an albeit reduced program so it can survive.

“While we would like to see the program made permanent, we realize it’s going to take compromise to get this program extended,” said Senate Republican Leader John Curran, R-Downers Grove, during a news conference Wednesday, adding his GOP colleagues are comfortable with “everything that’s in that proposal.”

Working across the aisle does not appeal to all Republicans such as the Illinois Freedom Caucus. Consisting of deeply conservative Republican lawmakers in central and southern Illinois, the group has referred to the bill from Guerrero-Cuellar as a "non-starter."

Although not a member of the caucus, Rep. Mike Coffey, R-Springfield, also said the program does not take away from public school funding, which comes from property taxes instead of income taxes. The end of Invest in Kids, he thinks, could cause the closure of schools like St. Patrick if its students can no longer afford tuition.

"My big worry is if you're part of the program now and you're going to a school and we cut that off," Coffey said during the Citizens Club forum. "Now you're gonna have to switch schools."

St. Patrick's, located at 1800 S. Grand Ave., first opened in 1910 giving it established ties in the east side community. Advancement director Kristin Cavanagh said the school offers parents more options to give students the education they deserve.

"It shouldn't be a privilege to be able to send your students to the school that is the best fit for them," she said. "It should be a choice."

Invest in Kids will be among a multitude of matters lawmakers could take up during the final week of the veto session, running from Tuesday through Thursday. Other actions could include the override of Pritzker's veto ending the state's nuclear moratorium and the Senate taking up a bill allowing for the unionization of legislative staff.

Turner's bill granting Springfield Public School District 186 the go-ahead in an eminent domain claim for the Springfield High School renovation projection also awaits a vote in the House.

Capitol News Illinois contributed to this report.

Contact Patrick M. Keck: (312) 549-9340, pkeck@gannett.com, twitter.com/@pkeckreporter.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: East side Catholic school could be closed if tax credit program ends