County’s Teachers Won’t Say No to New Tax Credit

Despite their skepticism about Gov. Gray Davis’ earlier proposal to exempt teachers from state income taxes, Ventura County educators Thursday embraced a more modest plan to dole out substantial tax credits for veteran teachers.

Davis on Wednesday signed the tax credit bill--written by Assemblywoman Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara)--along with several other education trailer bills, including money for teacher bonuses and a $2,000 boost in starting salaries.

The tax credits, which range from $250 for teachers with four years’ experience to $1,500 for 20-year veterans, is meant to reimburse educators for the out-of-pocket cash they spend each year on school supplies.

About 340,000 teachers statewide will qualify for the credit, which totals $218 million. The amount that can be claimed each year is capped at 50% of a teacher’s total tax liability.

Steve Blum, president of the Ventura Unified Education Assn., opposed the tax exemption proposal because he felt it would be unfair to other deserving state employees. But the tax credit makes sense because teachers often end up paying for staples--construction paper, stickers, markers--that stretched school budgets don’t cover, the union leader said.

“Teaching is pretty unique in terms of continually spending out of your own pocket to purchase things that, in other professions, are provided to you,” he said.

Blum said an informal survey he conducted in the Ventura Unified School District showed teachers on average spend $750 a year on supplies and supplemental educational materials.

Signa Raymer, a fourth-grade teacher at Arroyo West Elementary School in Moorpark, said she spends about $1,500 each year on extras for her classroom--the same amount she qualifies for under the new law with her 24 years of teaching experience.

Raymer writes checks for everything from dinosaur books to illustrate a lesson about prehistoric creatures to markers, tape and paper.

“I think [the tax credit] is wonderful,” Raymer said. “I try to make sure I can educate to the best of my ability as much as possible, and oftentimes that requires supplies.”

The tax credit is also being sold by its supporters as a means of teacher retention and recruitment. In California, officials are anticipating a need for at least 300,000 new teachers over the next 10 years.

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And that need will certainly be felt in growing areas such as Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, said Jackson, who represents voters in Ventura, Ojai and Santa Paula.

“This is to let them know how much we value their work and how much we value teachers who are credentialed,” Jackson said.

Davis’ tax exemption proposal, which he announced in May along with his $1.8-billion education spending package, caught the educational community by surprise, even drawing opposition from a large statewide teachers’ union.

Some said the governor’s proposal was groundbreaking, but others said it would create rivalry between different classes of public employees. Union leaders and others in education said they would rather see money put toward salary increases.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to single out a particular profession and treat it differently,” said Ron Matthews, vice president of the Ventura County Board of Education. “Once you start, where do you stop? I think they should get a raise.”

However, teachers across the county said they won’t complain about any extra help--no matter what form it takes.

Ventura High School English teacher Karen Blackwell, a 20-year educator, said the tax credit and higher salaries will go a long way toward keeping good teachers and luring new ones into the market. The tax credit can be valuable because it gives teachers a dollar-for-dollar reduction on any state tax liability.

“Especially for someone like me who knows how much of my paycheck goes to taxes, I think it’ll be a great help,” Blackwell said.

Dixie Morgan, a teacher at Nordhoff High School in Ojai, said she sees the new law as a first step toward similar measures for other understaffed and underpaid professions.

“But I’m glad they thought teachers were important enough to start with us,” she said.

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Ventura Unified Supt. Joseph Spirito, who said he didn’t like the original tax exemption proposal, does support the tax credit. He hopes it will put a high focus and priority on teaching as a career choice.

Whatever the long-term effects, one thing is clear: A quick dose of cash around tax time will make an immediate difference for many local teachers.

“You can get a child who has special needs and there’s nothing for them, so the teacher goes to the educational store and buys it,” said Barbara Glass, a fourth-grade teacher at Arroyo West. “It’s very common for beginning teachers to spend $3,000 a year.”

Blackwell said she also sees a benefit to the tax credit as opposed to general fund increases.

“If they just gave the money to the school district for salaries, it may or may not happen,” she said. “This is a direct way to reward teachers.”