Vouchers and refundable tax credits: Comparing Ada and Butte counties
Keller
From the moonscape of Butte County to the meandering Boise River in Ada, there is plenty to see across the Gem State. When we talk about school vouchers (including educational savings accounts and refundable tax credits), the differences extend beyond the scenery.
Ada County, Idaho’s most populous, is home to over half a million residents. There are more students already enrolled in private schools in Ada County (around 8,400 kids) than there are citizens in Butte County (about 2,700 people). Butte County has only three schools: two elementary and one middle/high school combo. Some families homeschool, but the nearest private school is in Lemhi County, the Salmon SDA School. If you live in Arco and want to send your child to the one private school in Salmon, the commute is over two hours around the Lost River Range. That is 150 miles one way. In contrast, one website lists over 20 private schools in Ada County alone.
A new voucher bill was introduced last week in the house. It is structured to be a refundable tax credit. Let us explore what that means. The average median income in Butte County is about $43,000. In Ada County, it is more than double that at over $88,900. Tuition at one private school in Boise will set you back over $10,000 for a high school student. If the average Butte County parent had access to a private school and wanted to claim the tax credit, they would pay almost a quarter of their annual income for the tuition of one child, anticipating only about half of that to be returned through the tax credit.
With no private schools in Butte County, offering a tax credit (an education voucher) will not do much. The legislation excludes anyone enrolled in public school, so if your kids are homeschooled or attend a virtual private school, but they play in the school band or join in on the field trip to Craters of the Moon, you are likely not eligible. If your public-school student gets extra help from a private tutor, that is not reimbursable. With zero private school choices, Butte County parents would not benefit from this education voucher. In essence, our rural citizens in places like Butte County will be assisting in funding the private tuition of their urban counterparts who can apply and benefit from this bill.
This proposed tax credit applies to anyone making up to 300% of the poverty level or about $93,000, not what most of us would consider in need of subsidized tuition. It does not cut off there; wealthier families could dip into any leftover funds. And in future years, the bill actually gives them priority over lower income families applying for the tax credit for the first time. In other words, this is a universal voucher bill and does not just target the “relatively few” families of need as the bill’s sponsor presented in the House Revenue and Tax Committee.
This legislation does not give parents in Butte County — or most other rural Idaho counties — any more choices than they already have. What does it do is subsidize (and prioritize) education for folks who already send their kids to private schools in Idaho’s most densely populated places. The result? As is true in places like Arizona and Florida, rural families will foot the bill for affluent, urban Idahoans who already send their students to private schools. We should say no thank you to public money for private education.
Dr. Paula Kellerer is the President and CEO of Idaho Business for Education. Before joining IBE, Dr. Kellerer was superintendent of the Nampa School District from 2017 to 2022. She was also the Founding Dean of the College of Adult and Graduate Studies at Northwest Nazarene University and served as Dean of NNU’s College of Education, Social Work and Counseling where she developed and implemented NNU’s first Ed.D. and Ph.D. programs.
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IBE is a group comprised of business leaders from across the state who are committed to transforming Idaho’s Education system. IBE members are devoted to creating a highly educated and skilled workforce that is able to strengthen the business climate and fuel a prosperous Idaho economy.