Turner Proposes Tax Credit for Private School Tuition

Since he was sent to Washington in December, U.S. Rep. Bob Turner, R-Forest Hills, has spent his time learning the ropes of the nation’s capital and hasn’t spent much time making his mark with legislation.

That changed on Friday, when Turner announced the TEACH act, a bill that would create a $5,000 tax credit for parents who send their children to private schools.

“Every parent knows that one of the most important and most expensive responsibilities of parenthood is educating their children,” Turner said. “But the best education is not always in the public system. One size does not fit all, people have their own choices and beliefs.”

Turner said that families across the country who choose to send their children to private schools face a “double taxation,” paying tuition to a private school while still paying taxes on public institutions which they have elected not to use.

Philip Franco, the principal of St. Margaret School, said the thought the bill, which Turner hopes to push through Congress this year, had a great deal of merit.

“This legislation, as proposed by Congressman Turner, is an excellent idea whose time has come,” Franco said. “Tax relief for those who choose to send their children to religious schools, and or any private school, is extremely helpful to families in these difficult economic times.”

Kelly Redmond, parent of a first-grader and a public school teacher herself, said the bill would mean a lot to her family.

“I think it’s a win-win," she said. "It would be foolish for [Congress] not to take a look at this.”

Turner said the bill, which he has yet to try and drum up support for, would likely find some friends in Congress.