From the Washington Grove Town Council meeting on November 23, 2009.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Senator Nancy King on the BOAST Bill
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9 comments:
It wasn't a great idea, but it certainly wasn't the handout to relgious organizations (at the expense of public school funding) that its opponents made it out to be.
A simple reading of the bill indicates that the funding was to be in the form of tax credits - it says so right at the top of the bill. Further, the idea was to provide not only credits for funding of scholarships to students, it also called for applying the credits for teacher training and certification of both public and private school teachers.
Again, not a great idea in the context of the current budget crisis, but the misrepresentation of the intent of the bill is rather easily debunked.
Tom Steele
Just to be clear, tax credits are taken directly off the taxes paid by an organization. Thus, every dollar of a tax credit represents one dollar subtracted from the total taxes paid to the government. Those tax dollars could be used for the public school programs that are being cut. Bottom line: private schools should pay their own way and are not entitled to ANY tax breaks, especially in the middle of a recession.
In my humble opinion, any politician who promotes tax credits for religious schools, particularly those representing her own religion, is using her power as an elected official to support her own agenda, to the detriment of her constituents. I believe that such a politician should be voted out of office.
Phyllis Book
This is a willful misrepresentation, at best. Private schools were not being given the tax break under BOAST; the tax breaks were to be extended to companies who fund scholarships for students and teachers in both public and private schools.
Further, your charge that the bills' supporters were primarily interested in funding for religious schools is a rather simplistic reading; there are numerous private schools in the state without religious affiliation. Your charge that Senator King was somehow favoring her own religion is an insult to the intelligence of informed voters, to say nothing of the affront to Senator King herself.
I agree with the premise that tax credits ultimately have a negative affect on the general fund, but to imply - as the questioner in the video did, and you've attemtped to repeat here - that the BOAST bill directly took funding from public schools (like a voucher) and gave the money directly to religious organizations is simply untrue.
Tom Steele
And to close out this out, it should be noted that Senator King was one of 17 Senators who voted against the bill this year:
http://mlis.state.md.us/2010rs/votes/senate/0470.htm
Tom Steele
Tom,
Everyone is entitled to their own opinions but not their own facts. Your argument that BOAST (which is really just school vouchers -- a favorite Republican idea) doesn't hurt our state government's budget is flat-out wrong. You can read the fiscal analysis of this bill prepared by the non-partisan Department of Legislative Services by clicking here. It shows that the bill would cost the state $5.2 million dollars per year.
To say that Nancy King voted against this bill in 2010 only tells half the story. In fact there was a floor amendment offered by Senator Nathaniel Exum to gut the bill by vastly reducing the cap on eligibility for tax credits. You can read it by clicking here. Out of 8 Montgomery County Senators, 6 of them (the liberal/progressive block) voted for the amendment. Nancy King joined the Republicans and other voucher supporters in opposing that amendment. Click here to see.
Nancy King portrays herself as a champion of public education. So the question remains: Why has she made so many pro-voucher votes in 2008 and 2010? Her explanation in this video is "It was a political thing on my part". That makes no sense. Her constituents (like me) deserve a fuller explanation. Since she is only willing to take pre-scripted & pre-approved questions however, I guess she will continue to avoid answering. But people like me will continue to ask.
Yusuf Azizullah
Gaithersurg, MD
Tom,
Everyone is entitled to their own opinions but not their own facts. Your argument that BOAST (which is really just school vouchers -- a favorite Republican idea) doesn't hurt our state government's budget is flat-out wrong. You can read the fiscal analysis of this bill prepared by the non-partisan Department of Legislative Services by clicking here. It shows that the bill would cost the state $5.2 million dollars per year.
To say that Nancy King voted against this bill in 2010 only tells half the story. In fact there was a floor amendment offered by Senator Nathaniel Exum to gut the bill by vastly reducing the cap on eligibility for tax credits. You can read it by clicking here. Out of 8 Montgomery County Senators, 6 of them (the liberal/progressive block) voted for the amendment. Nancy King joined the Republicans and other voucher supporters in opposing that amendment. Click here to see.
Nancy King portrays herself as a champion of public education. So the question remains: Why has she made so many pro-voucher votes in 2008 and 2010? Her explanation in this video is "It was a political thing on my part". That makes no sense. Her constituents (like me) deserve a fuller explanation. Since she is only willing to take pre-scripted & pre-approved questions however, I guess she will continue to avoid answering. But people like me will continue to ask.
Yusuf Azizullah
Gaithersurg, MD
Yusuf -
I never made the argument that tax credits don't hurt the budget; in fact I twice stated that BOAST wasn't a great idea, particularly in the context of the current budget crisis.
The ultimate repsonse to all this is that Senator King was one of only 17 Senators to vote down the bill when it came up this year. As for what Senator King has done for education, I think her record speaks for itself. She's been endorsed by the MCEA, the school board president, and she managed to save the school system $23 million this year. That doesn't sound to me like someone who is an enemy of public education.
Her opponent has charged her with "Rovian" tactics. The hallmark of Rove's style of campaigning was to take his opponents' strengths and try and turn them into a liability. I can't think of a better example of this than trying to turn someone who has served on the school board and been a constant and vocal advocate of public education into some kind of school-hating monster.
"Rovian" tactics? Look no further than the mirror.
Tom Steele
Tom, please stop with the hysterics.
What in the world does this video have to do with Senator King's opponent? Did he force the unbelievably lame words "It was a political thing on my part" out of her mouth? Did he force her to repeatedly vote for school vouchers? Is he even aware of this video?
You keep attacking others. But neither you nor Nancy King has explained why she voted for vouchers in 2008 and 2010. Please stop dodging. Just give a simple explanation and this will all blow over. Otherwise people will keep watching the above video and realize what a poor job their Senator is doing.
Furthermore, I don't believe Saqib Ali has ever mentioned Nancy's educational record. You claim he has without any substantiation. That is not correct and the readers should know it.
-Koushik Bhattacharya
Gaithersburg, MD
You'd have to ask Senator King why she voted for BOAST (which, despite repeated attempts to label it as such, is NOT a voucher) in 2008. She did not vote for it in 2010, neither in committee nor on the floor.
Further, the questioner in the video attempts to paint the bill as something it is not - namely, a direct handout to relgious organizations which would come straight out of the school budget.
As for hysterics, I'd say that trying to convince anyone that a past president of the school board, who has been endorsed by MCEA and the school board president, and saved the school system $23 million this past session is not acting in the best interests of public education is indeed "hysterical".
I'm not attacking anyone, I'm just tired of half-truths and selectively edited videos being passed off as the basis for public discourse. The charge of "Rovian" tactics was one offered by the Ali campaign during the recent phone survey, so go complain to him about that one.
Tom Steele
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