WHO: CHILDREN who won’t be able to attend their school if the EITC is cut;
BUSINESSES who won’t be able to contribute to their community in a financially responsible way if the EITC is cut;
COMMUNITY LEADERS who see the impact of the EITC every day;
Father Edward J. Quinlan, Secretary for Education, Diocese of Harrisburg
Andrew T. LeFevre, Executive Director, REACH Foundation
WHAT: A rally and press conference to show the impact and significance of the $75 million Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) Program. Over 100 children will be attending, all of whose lives a are greatly impacted by the EITC. Children and education are at the forefront of our future and a cut to the EITC Program would be detrimental to our future.
WHEN: Friday, September 25, 2009
11 a.m. – 11:20 a.m.
WHERE: The Capitol Building, Harrisburg, PA
Main Rotunda
WHY: Tax credit programs are looking at a cut of about $40 million in the 2009-2010 state budget. Initial estimates by the Department of Community and Economic Development’s Tax Credit Division show a record demand from the business community to claim tax credits under the EITC program during the 2009-2010 fiscal year.
If funding for the EITC is cut in the pending state budget, hundreds of businesses could be frozen out of the only Pennsylvania tax credit program that provides a direct benefit to children and families. But the real tragedy will be the thousands of students who will not be able to attend a school that meets their individual educational needs because they lose an EITC scholarship.
Over 44,000 students were able to attend the school of their choice during the 2008-2009 school year because of the EITC Program, while countless numbers of children in public school will benefit from innovative programs that would have likely gone unfunded. The EITC Program gives these students a chance for a successful future. In May 2001, PA became the first state to pass an educational tax credit aimed at corporations. Our innovative EITC has been nationally praised as a model for offering parents a choice in their child’s education. Due to overwhelming demand and popularity, the EITC Program has been expanded four times since its enactment in 2001, with a current cap of $75 million.
What is the REACH Foundation? Founded in 1993, the REACH (Road to Educational Achievement through Choice) Foundation is dedicated to ensuring parental choice in education in Pennsylvania. REACH continually promotes policies that enable statewide parental choice in education, including the well-established and highly successful EITC Program. For more information on the REACH Foundation, visit www.paschoolchoice.org.
