| ||||||||||
 
Dr. Ronald P. Rogers CHIROPRACTOR Support for your body's natural healing capabilities 270-384-5554 Click here for details 
  
Columbia Gas Dept. GAS LEAK or GAS SMELL Contact Numbers 24 hrs/ 365 days 270-384-2006 or 9-1-1 Call before you dig 
Visit ColumbiaMagazine's Directory of Churches Addresses, times, phone numbers and more for churches in Adair County Find Great Stuff in ColumbiaMagazine's Classified Ads Antiques, Help Wanted, Autos, Real Estate, Legal Notices, More... 
|
First lady in favor of scholarship tax credit bills Commentary by First Lady Glenna Bevin Frankfort, KY - During the next few weeks, our General Assembly has a remarkable opportunity to give thousands of Kentucky children a new path to success by voting in favor of two bills that will help create a scholarship tax credit program. House Bill 205 and Senate Bill 118 will go a long way towards helping children in the Commonwealth reach their dreams. Families like the Hendersons in South Louisville know all too well the power this scholarship tax program would have in transforming the futures of Kentucky's children. In 2015, Daniel and Denise Henderson decided to become foster parents of medically fragile children and those with a history of trauma. Not long after they were approved in the summer of 2016, they welcomed a set of three elementary school-age siblings to their home -- a 10-year-old girl (Elle) and her two brothers, ages eight and five. The two oldest were victims of trafficking, and all had sustained trauma. The Hendersons provided the stable, happy and safe home environment the children needed, and were able to help them focus on school. Elle struggled in her fifth grade class at the time, and as they discussed middle school options, Denise and Daniel were surprised when Elle told them she wanted to attend a private school. While they wanted to support her choice, being a child in foster care put significant limits on Elle's education options. Elle asked to talk to the judge herself, and after she did, the judge granted her permission to attend the school of her choice. Denise and Daniel stretched their resources to pay the tuition for the private school, and Elle flourished. By the time the next school year came around, the Hendersons had adopted the sibling group -- and Elle's younger brothers, Shawn and Josh, wanted to follow their sister to private school. The school made Elle feel safe and loved, and though the Hendersons were convinced the school was the best fit for their children, tuition for three children was unattainable. After researching their options, they learned about School Choice Scholarships, an organization in Louisville that grants low-income students the opportunity to attend the school of their choice. The Hendersons were awarded scholarships, and the children were overjoyed to be able to attend the school they chose together. The Henderson kids are thriving in a school that fits them, but thousands -- perhaps tens of thousands -- of children across the Commonwealth do not have access to that kind of opportunity. In Louisville alone, School Choice Scholarships currently has more than 6,000 children on its waiting list. Through no fault of their own, many minority and low-income families disproportionally find themselves in the lowest performing schools. Countless parents need access to schools that are specifically suited to their children's educational and emotional needs but either cannot not afford private school tuition or are unable to move to another school district. Simply put: school choice already exists in Kentucky, but it is currently only available to the wealthy. As a mother of nine, I know all children have unique strengths, challenges and interests. A one-size-fits-all approach to parenting does not work well. The same is true for education: families need options. HB 205 and SB 118 propose to create a scholarship tax program that would help close this significant gap in opportunity. The program encourages individuals and businesses to donate to non-profit organizations, like School Choice Scholarships, that assist lower income families with tuition for the non-public schools of their choice. Through this program, donors would receive a 95 percent tax credit for their donation. For every $100 donated, a $95 tax credit is received. No public funds are involved, as private donations alone are used to increase parental options. Eighteen other states have similar scholarship tax programs in place, making it clear they value the role of the family in education. It is time for Kentucky to do the same! I am imploring the General Assembly to vote yes on HB 205 and SB 118. Education is key to breaking the cycle of poverty, and a zip code should not determine a student's academic success. We cannot continue upholding a status quo that favors only families with means, and a scholarship tax credit policy would be a great step toward improving access to education opportunities for all Kentucky's children. This story was posted on 2019-03-02 11:23:00
Printable: this page is now automatically formatted for printing.
Have comments or corrections for this story? Use our contact form and let us know. More articles from topic Politics:
House passes amended School Safety and Resiliency Act Carney files bill to limit Kentucky CTO's pay Ag Tag funds benefit 4H, FFA, KDA Opinion: USMCA Trade Modernization Benefits KY and N. America Glasgow's Kelly Craft nominated to serve as U.N. Ambassador Sen. Max Wise's Legislative Update - Fri 22 Feb 2019 SB1 Advances to House Sen. Max Wise's Legislative Update - Fri 15 Feb 2019 Field is set for Governor's race Stivers: How much is spent lobbying KY's executive branch? View even more articles in topic Politics |
 
115 Jamestown St. Columbia, KY. 270-384-2496 
  
   
 Provided by the Adair Co Fiscal Court and the Adair Co. Emergency Mgt. Agency 
|
||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
|
Quick Links to Popular Features
Looking for a story or picture? Try our Photo Archive or our Stories Archive for all the information that's appeared on ColumbiaMagazine.com. | ||||||||||
|
Contact us: Columbia Magazine and columbiamagazine.com are published by Linda Waggener and Pen Waggener, PO Box 906, Columbia, KY 42728. Please use our contact page, or send questions about technical issues with this site to webmaster@columbiamagazine.com. All logos and trademarks used on this site are property of their respective owners. All comments remain the property and responsibility of their posters, all articles and photos remain the property of their creators, and all the rest is copyright 1995-Present by Columbia Magazine. Privacy policy: use of this site requires no sharing of information. Voluntarily shared information may be published and made available to the public on this site and/or stored electronically. Anonymous submissions will be subject to additional verification. Cookies are not required to use our site. However, if you have cookies enabled in your web browser, some of our advertisers may use cookies for interest-based advertising across multiple domains. For more information about third-party advertising, visit the NAI web privacy site.
| ||||||||||
