Working for All Public Students? A Comprehensive Analysis of Arizona's Public Schools' Tax Credits

• In Event: 69.056 - Roundtable Session 31
  In Roundtable Session: 69.056-3 - Pecuniary and Nonpecuniary Investments in Education

Abstract

Public school tax credits have steadily grown from $4 million to $400 million. What may have been envisioned originally as a few extra dollars for extracurricular activities is now at nearly $50 per student. The average tax credit revenue for an elementary school of 500 students is $25,000; for a high school with 2,500 students, $125,000 is the average tax credit. In the context of recent cuts to education funding, this can be the difference between having extracurricular options for students or not. This paper will analyze the distribution of public education tax credits and their uses to better understand the impact of this funding policy on schools.

Authors

• Ildiko I. Laczko-Kerr, Arizona Charter Schools Association

• Eric Berschback, Arizona Charter Schools Association