Opportunity Scholarship participating schools
The state's new Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Program reminds Bob Hollister of a cartoon.
A man is writing the words "Think Ahead" on a big sign, but the letters for "Ahead" "are all squished to one side because he didn't (think ahead)," Hollister said.
To Hollister, superintendent of Eastern Lancaster County School District, state officials didn't think very far ahead when they approved the new scholarship program June 30 — less than two months before it will take effect.
"The General Assembly and the governor's closest advisers are the guy in this scenario as it relates to how well this legislation was thought through," Hollister said in an email.
Unanswered questions about how the program will function prompted Elanco, and every other school district serving Lancaster County students, to opt out of participating.
Private schools, on the other hand, have signed up in droves to take advantage of the potential financial windfall.
The program will provide $50 million in state tax credits to businesses that donate scholarship money for students whose public schools are among the 15 percent lowest performers in Pennsylvania.
Sixteen of those 414 schools are in School District of Lancaster, Pequea Valley and Columbia, meaning students living within those districts' borders may be eligible for scholarship money.
To qualify, their families must earn no more than $60,000, plus $12,000 per dependent.
The scholarships can be used to pay tuition at a private school or a neighboring public school — if any public schools had signed up to accept students.
All 17 public districts that enroll county students have confirmed they won't participate this fall.
They're not alone. As of Friday, only one public school district in the entire state, Clarion Area in western Pennsylvania, was listed among the 350-plus schools that have received state approval to participate.
Ambiguities about who will pay student transportation costs and how the scholarship funds will be applied to special-education students, coupled with concerns about how accepting students from other districts would affect class sizes, staffing levels and state aid, prompted the local districts to opt out.
"There seems to be a frantic rush to get this program into place before all the issues have been addressed," Gerald Huesken, superintendent of Conestoga Valley School District, said in an email.
"There are too many questions still unanswered regarding the impact on our district and not enough time for a full and deliberate consideration before the Aug. 15 deadline."
That was the date by which schools had to declare if they were in or out.
By late Friday, 14 private schools in Lancaster County had been approved by the state to participate. More local schools are expected to be added next week.
The program will offer scholarships of up to $8,500, or $15,000 for special-education students, but the actual award amounts will depend on how much money businesses contribute to the scholarship organizations that will dole out the funds and how many families seek assistance.
Over the past 10 days, the number of approved scholarship organizations has ballooned from 10 to more than 200, including several that work with county schools.
As of Friday, businesses statewide had committed $10 million to the program, and state officials expect the full $50 million to be pledged this year because of how popular a similar program, the Educational Improvement Tax Credit, has been.
Lancaster Catholic High School received about $150,000 in EITC funds last year, which helped about 50 students attend the school, Principal Tom Fertal said.
The prospect of more financial help prompted Lancaster Catholic to sign up for the Opportunity Scholarship program, he said.
"Any time we can help students who want to come to Catholic High to make it more affordable, that's a good thing," Fertal said.
To obtain a scholarship, families must apply to a scholarship organization affiliated with a school. Scholarships will be awarded based on financial need, the amount of money that has been pledged and the number of scholarship requests each school receives.
State officials estimate the program could help about 40,000 students across Pennsylvania. If that projection pans out, scholarships would average about $1,250 apiece.
