NEEDHAM, Mass. — Gubernatorial candidate Mike Minogue is urging Governor Maura Healey to enroll Massachusetts in the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit, now that the Treasury Department has issued the program’s final rules.
The Boston Globe’s editorial board made the same case on October 2, writing that Healey “should take the money.” The paper noted that opting in is the only way Massachusetts can keep the hundreds of millions, potentially billions, of federal dollars set aside for education in the state.
The Washington Post’s October 1 coverage of the final rules pointed out that the program is financed entirely with federal funds, so states that sit it out forgo a chance to direct more money toward their public schools. The Post also reported that Treasury estimates 95 percent of children live in families that meet the income threshold, which is set at less than three times the area median income.
“The Federal Scholarship Tax Credit could provide up to $5,000 for every eligible child,” said Minogue. “By refusing to opt in, Governor Healey is choosing party politics over Massachusetts families, and kids are paying for it. Education is one of the most powerful tools we have to break the cycle of poverty. When I’m governor, Massachusetts will opt in on day one.”
The program neither cuts nor diverts public school funding, locally or nationally. Unlike the traditional voucher programs some states run, it is built to widen educational options for students in public and non-public schools alike.
Priority goes to low- and middle-income families, with a focus on expanding access for students in lower-performing schools. Families could use the benefit for things that are often out of financial reach, including tutoring and academic support, enrichment and after-school programs, career and technical education, and services for students with special learning needs.
That support could matter most in communities where school budgets are stretched and towns are weighing tax overrides or other steps to cover rising education costs. By drawing additional private resources into the education system, the program could supplement what public school students can access without putting the full burden on local school budgets. It is designed to complement public education, not compete with it.
Massachusetts can stay committed to its public schools and still give families more ways to meet their children’s individual needs and interests. The need is clear: a recent poll found that 60 percent of Massachusetts students in grades 3 through 8 did not meet expectations, and 77 percent of public school teachers believe public education is headed in the wrong direction.
Minogue said “Big Education” has pressed Healey not to opt in. Her unwillingness to act, he argued, is a textbook case of putting politics ahead of students and parents, and it hurts affordability across the state.
From the press office of Mike Minogue.