Tulsa-area lawmakers said Monday they're trying to round up votes for legislation allowing tax credits for donations to a scholarship program to help low-income students go to private schools.
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Called the New Hope Scholarship Program, Senate Bill 2093 would apply to low-income students attending schools in Oklahoma City and Tulsa that have been on the "needs improvement” list for more than three years.
Some Tulsa-area legislators and residents held a news conference to explain the plan, which is pending in the House.
They said the bill would not take money from schools.
Rep. Tad Jones, R-Claremore, and Rep. Jabar Shumate, D-Tulsa, said they are talking with rural legislators to assure them the legislation would not take any money away from rural schools.
Sen. James Williamson, R-Tulsa, and Sen. Judy Eason McIntyre, D-Tulsa, said about 7,000 students attend schools that need improvement.
Funding for the scholarships would come from private donors, who would get a 50 percent tax credit on the amount they donate, they said.
The credit is limited statewide to a maximum of $2.5 million annually, Williamson said.
Bishop Donald Tyler, pastor of Greater Grace Temple in north Tulsa, said he has constructed a school building that could be used in the area for students qualifying for the scholarship program. He said children are in danger in public schools in his area of Tulsa.
"I just don't believe any child should be denied education because they're poor,” said Barbara Shannon, who operates a private school in the north Tulsa area.
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Thanks, Mike, for providing a PERFECT example of what is wrong is Oklahoma education. No, it isn't the parents. No, it isn't the curriculum. No, it isn't the teachers. No, it isn't that R-rated movie he/she saw over the weekend. No, it isn't the government. No, it is the $14,000 per STUDENT we spend on LOWER education every YEAR. It is that EIGHT YEAR OLD's fault! You make me sick.
Moving students from one school to another is not the answer. It is not the schools that need improving, it is the students. All that will be accomplished is that another school will be classified low performing. And as for no money being taken from rural schools......... heard it before. Just like the lotto money would not be included in the funding formula.
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