Plan aims to tighten rules on corporate voucher program
Officials hope the new rules will stop abuses to the $88-million program that gives tax breaks to participating companies.
By Associated Press
Published August 29, 2003
TALLAHASSEE - Education Commissioner Jim Horne announced a plan Thursday that he said would put more accountability into a program that gives corporations tax breaks for giving private school scholarships to poor students.
The year-old, $88-million corporate voucher program has been criticized by Democrats for a lack of oversight, especially after a scholarship organization reportedly collected money without providing scholarships.
Among the 15 measures Horne wants adopted are requirements that scholarship funding organizations be registered as Florida corporations and undergo regular audits. They also could not run private schools that participate in the program, target scholarships to specific schools or provide scholarships to their own employees.
They would also have to verify students' income eligibility and attendance and report any private school not complying with program rules.
"This is a culmination of lots of recommendations, a lot of input from a lot of groups, and I believe this will restore the confidence and ensure the accountability that we all desire," Horne said.
Corporate tax scholarships are the largest school voucher program in the state. Donors receive dollar-for-dollar credit for as much as 75 percent of their state tax liability.
Horne said the Legislature would have to approve the recommended changes.
The recommendations were made after the discovery that an Ocala organization, the Silver Archer Foundation, appeared to have collected more than $400,000 in scholarship donations without providing scholarships.
Gov. Jeb Bush supports the plan, said spokeswoman Alia Faraj.
Democrats say it's not enough.
"This is a pea shooter when the problem needs an elephant gun," said Rep. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach. "There are infinite ways to steal and waste government money and you need a program that deals with more than just the least competent wrongdoers."
He said the state needs to set up a system for an auditor independent of the Department of Education to examine the program. He said the audits should focus not only on the organizations providing scholarship money, but also on the schools accepting it.
Florida Democratic Party chairman Scott Maddox said stiffer accountability measures should have been put into place before the program was created last year.
