Tax-Free Education Accounts Met With Hope and Concern

A plan approved by Congress to offer families a tax break for certain educational expenses is seen as a welcome relief to some in Ventura County. But others view the proposal as a threat to public schools.

The bill would let parents put away up to $2,000 per year in a tax-free savings account to cover education-related expenses such as private-school tuition, tutoring or a home computer.

Approved in the House and Senate, where some legislators described it as a boost for families, the bill faces a veto from President Clinton, who says it would give help to those who need it least.

In Ventura County, opinions are likewise divided.

Hal Vick, a teachers union leader, said he considers the savings plan “a fancy way to repackage vouchers,” a term for direct subsidies of private school tuition that have been rejected in the past.

“The big question is if the tax break is in addition to, or in lieu of, federal money going to education,” said Vick, executive director of the Unified Assn. of Conejo Teachers. “My concern is that this is another excuse to cut back on education funding.”

Norman Walker, who sits on Simi Valley’s public school board and runs a private Christian school, doesn’t see it that way.

*

Since parents who want to keep their kids in public school can still use the savings accounts to augment their child’s education with tutors or home computers, Walker said, he believes the proposal would not improperly favor private schools. And if the tax incentive puts more kids in private schools, it can only help the public system, he said.

“I want our public schools strengthened, and I don’t believe the government can do that without the stimulation of competition,” Walker said. “I was a proponent of vouchers. Anything that gives parents choice is going to help public education. We shouldn’t be afraid to compete.”

Charles Weis, superintendent of Ventura County public schools, said he is not against the idea, but wondered if it would really benefit everyone.

“The upside is it enables kids to get more educational support, if their parents can afford it,” Weis said. “The downside is children of poor families will be left out. You’ve got to make the money before you can get the tax break.”

Weis also said the program is “just shy” of a voucher-type system that uses federal funds to subsidize private and parochial institutions.

“Any time we fund education, that’s a good thing,” Weis said. “But this is certainly not a solution to what education needs.”

Parents picking up their children at the public Westlake Hills elementary school Monday had mixed reactions to the savings account plan.

“I think it’s great,” said Jennifer Dahlke, a mother of three between the ages of 2 and 5. “Especially if you live an area where the public schools are not good. It gives an incentive to put your kids in a private school.”

Dahlke said she likes her public school system and would use the savings account for private foreign language lessons for her children.

*

Alan Greenbaum, father of five children ranging from 10 to 18, said he was against the plan.

“We ought to focus our effort on upgrading the public schools rather than promoting private ones,” he said. “This is like saying, ‘Here’s some money to find your own school so we don’t have to sweat it out worrying about fixing the public schools.’ It’s not an easy task, but the public schools are absolutely worth saving.”

Vick, the teachers union leader, said he finds fault with the notion that the savings plan would help public school parents buy computers for the home when many schools lack their own computers.

“There’s no harm in giving parents the chance to buy a tax-free computer, but this is an example of the government cutting back on education expenditures,” he said. “If there are not enough computers to go around in the schools, why would the government set up a program to subsidize them at home?”

Walker, the public school board member who also runs a private school, said it is a matter of choice.

“It’s good to let the parents decide where and what to spend on their children’s education,” Walker said. “These federal debates are about big money and power. But kids get lost in all of that. Regardless of the liberal or conservative agenda, what matters most is being able to educate our kids.”