Take the Credit!

11-21-2021Pastor's LetterFr. John Bonavitacola

Dear Friends,

I’ve spent more than a few frustrating hours at Public School Board Meetings. The issue at hand was usually Sex Ed inserted into the curriculum. And almost always it had been inserted by the strong advocacy of Planned Parenthood. One thing PP does well, other than abortions, is to support campaigns for local School Board positions. Their success has been pretty fantastic. Once of course they fund a campaign and get their candidate elected then they pressure them to use the PP Sex Ed materials in our Public Schools.

As a result, the School Board Meetings often became tense, hostile and School Board members often did their best to hide the materials, disguise the names of the material or just flat out lie that they were not using Sex Ed curriculum developed by PP. My biggest frustration is that more parents do not get involved in reviewing the teaching materials that are used in the Schools where their children attend.

But that seems to be changing across the country. With the insertion of Critical Race Theory and transgender ideology in school curriculum and policies, parents are now taking note and working hard to oust School Board Members who refuse to listen to Parents and get candidates elected who do. Good. Finally.

When St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and St. John Neumann started a Catholic School system in the US in the 1800’s it was in response to both Protestant religious teaching and anti-Catholicism that was permeating Public Schools. Once Catholic schools took off, a whole series of legislation was passed to forbid taxes to fund Catholic schools. A lot of that legislation was recently struck down (finally) by the US Supreme Court. The Court has also upheld Tax Credits, Vouchers and other funding for Private Schools, including Religious schools. The AZ Tax Credit for Private Education has been to the US Supreme Court twice and won both times. So, today’s parents, especially in AZ have more educational options than most of you had when raising children. And the impact of School Choice has greatly helped AZ climb up from the bottom in educational achievement in the US.

Now you may be thinking, “glad those days are over”! No more fighting with my kid about homework or grades or attending Parent-Teacher meetings. You are right to rest from your labors! But you can still support today’s parents and help ensure that all our children have access to the best education possible.

How to do that? Then answer is in supporting School Choice. Let parents decide what the best educational environment works for their child. We are fond of Choice in most other areas of our lives, so why not in education? A diverse educational environment helps produce citizens who can build up society from many different viewpoints as well as prevent “educational inbreeding” which produces monolithic thinking that stifles society’s ability to move forward.

In Arizona we are fortunate to have the AZ Tax Credit for Private and/or Public Education. You can direct your AZ taxes towards parents who then can use those funds to send their child to a school of their choice.

If you have tax liability in AZ you can direct up to $1219.00 as a single filer or for married filers $2435. And you have up to April 15, 2022 to make the contribution for 2021 tax year. And remember it is a dollar for dollar tax credit (not a tax deduction), so you either get a refund or the amount is deducted from what you owe on your AZ Income taxes. And you can still file using the short form of the AZ 1040.

There are many STO’s or Student Tuition Organizations set up to receive donations. Catholic Education Arizona is the one the Diocese operates. CEA awards funds based on financial need and you can earmark your donation to a specific school but not a specific student. (Other STO’s do allow you to direct your contribution to a specific student, for that you should speak to a parent of a student as to which STO to use.)This weekend after all our Masses representatives from CEA as well as families from one of our Catholic schools will be here to answer your questions as to how it works and how it benefits our children. For more info and to contribute go to catholiceducationarizona.org

Love, Fr. John B.

P.S. Over the years in promoting the Tax Credit Program in AZ, not just for Private Schools but also for Charities like SVDP, I have come to learn that talking about how taxes work puts people into a coma, so ask your tax preparer about the Tax Credits, I guarantee you they will tell you it is a no-brainer!

P.P.S. For those grandparents who want to go the extra mile you can also set up a 529 Savings Plan to help pay for your grandchild’s education from kindergarten to college and when the funds are used for education you pay no federal tax and depending on the state, no state taxes. These accounts can also help with estate tax benefits. Again talk to your Tax or Financial advisor.