Rockford private school leaders raise concern after state declines to extend scholarship tax credit

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Private school leaders here are raising concern for dozens of students who could lose their scholarships after state lawmakers declined to extend a controversial scholarship program for private and religious schools.

The program, called Invest in Kids, provides a 75% income tax credit for individuals and businesses who donate to one of six state-approved scholarship funds. Total annual credits are capped at $75 million.

Supporters say it provided people with school choice regardless of their income while opponents said it stripped money from public schools.

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However, the fall veto session came to a close last week without a vote on House Bill 4194, which would have extended the program to Jan. 1, 2029, and scaled the annual credits cap back to $50 million, among other changes. Now, the program will come to a close on Dec. 31.

“I believe that all parents should be able to choose what’s best for their child regardless of how much money they make,” said Annie Baddoo, head of school co-lead for Keith Country Day School.

She said students who came to Keith on scholarship often did so because they weren’t succeeding inside public schools. Invest in Kids provides donors an incentive to help fund private education for families in need, supporters of the program say.

“It’s just heartbreaking that parents would lose the choice to do what they know is best for their kids,” Baddoo said. “Regardless of partisan politics and all of that, at the end of the day every parent should be able to do what’s best for their child.”

Opponents, including the state’s largest teachers union, argued that the program equated to a school choice voucher program that siphoned money away from public schools. They argue that every dollar given in tax credits could go into the state’s coffers and be directed to public schools.

Support for the program largely fell along party lines, with Republicans in support of continuing it. It was initially passed in 2017 as part of an overhaul to how Illinois funds public education. At the time, the scholarship program was put forward in order to get then Gov. Bruce Rauner to agree to sign the legislation that enacted an evidence-based funding system.

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State Rep. Dave Vella, a Democrat, said the tax credit could be extended when lawmakers return to Springfield in January if changes are made that prevent it from being a school voucher program.

“They’re going to have to make some changes to it that A) Will make sure it does not take money away from the public schools, and B) that it goes to the places where it’s needed like Rockford,” Vella said.

State Sen. Dave Syverson, a Republican, said many of the beneficiaries of the scholarships were Black and Latino students who were in schools that were underperforming. He said it gave families a choice of where their child should be educated regardless of their income.

“We just had this big push to eliminate cash bail because we didn’t want to treat low-income people different than people with means,” he said. “But yet they turn around right after that and say, we’re going to destroy an education bill that would try to treat people the same. … The hypocrisy is certainly not lost on a lot of legislators.”

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Christian Life’s Head of School Judy Bethge said Christian Life has about 65 students who benefit from Invest in Kids scholarships from Empower Illinois, the state’s largest nonprofit scholarship granting group.

“This program doesn’t take away from the public school,” she said. “We can do both: Fully fund our public schools and also provide an incentive for private donors to help assist working families be able to have access for a best-fit education for their child.”

Bethge said there are about 120 students in the Stateline who benefit from the program. An estimated 9,600 students benefit from the program across Illinois.

“I don’t want it to be a political party issue. I don’t want it to be partisan. We can do both,” she said. “Children of working families, they should not be caught in the middle of political party differences and they deserve the best opportunities that we can provide.”

Amy Ott, president of Boylan Catholic High School, said roughly 70 students there have benefited from the scholarship since its inception about five years ago. There are about a dozen students funded through Invest in Kids Scholarships now, she said, and about 45 more on a waiting list.

The students scholarships are covered through the end of the school year but not for the start of the next school year in fall 2024.

“Luckily we have this year covered, so now we have the next six-plus months to either work with the state to bring it back or continue to raise funds and try to help these families so they don’t have to choose a different avenue of education for their kids,” Ott said.

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas