Voucher bills are headed to the floor of the Senate this week-contact your Senator and urge them to vote NO on SB 87 and SB 75.

SB 87 is an expansion of the current tax credit “scholarship” voucher program that was further expanded in committee by Rep. Adam Thomas who added provisions to increase the current cap from $10 million to $15 million and expanded the overall maximum to $25 million annually. The bill also expands the tax credit to 100% which means “donors” are mere tax evaders, and it’s the rest of us who actually foot the cost of these tuition payments. It expands eligibility to foster children, first responders, EMS, police and firefighters with no requirement they attend public school first and no income limit. This bill represents another attempt to expand this program to universality without providing any necessary oversight. These programs have been shown to lower academic achievement in other states and should not be expanded here. Testimony in comments for more explanation of why this bill is bad for Kansas.

Also urge your Senator to oppose SB 75, a generous tax credit for families who opt out of public schools. There is no income cap in this bill, making it welfare for the wealthy, and if a family gets more in credit than their tax liability, they get a check from the state for the difference. Testimony in comments for more explanation of why this bill is bad for Kansas.