Do Education Tax Credits Improve Equity?

Abstract

In 1997 the Arizona legislature passed a public education tax credit bill that allowed state income tax payers a dollar-for-dollar tax credit for donations to public schools for extracurricular activities and character education programs. In the haste to get the bill passed there was no time for legislative review, staff analysis, or public scrutiny on the potential impact of the proposed bill. There should have been concern raised on whether the public education tax credit bill would result in an equitable distribution funds given that it was unlikely low-income families would participate, there was no guarantee that middle and upper-income families would designate their contributions to the neediest schools, and state law prohibited any redistribution of funds by school districts.This study quantitatively examined the distribution of education tax credit revenues in terms of student poverty/wealth among unified public school districts in Arizona over a three year time span. The relationship between per pupil education tax credit revenues and the percentage of students eligible for the free/reduced meal program was tested and measured among 92 unified public school districts using correlation and regression analysis for 2005, 2006, and 2007. By statistically examining the distribution of per pupil education tax credit revenues in terms of student poverty/wealth among unified public school districts in a time-series manner, the study aimed to determine if the public education tax credit program in Arizona had resulted in an equitable distribution of funds.The results of the study yielded the following findings. One, there was a strong negative association between the two variables of interest (r = -.58, p < .001). Two, the relationship between variables could be predicated (Y = -93.366x + 81.3) and the linear relationship between variables was statistically reliable (.33). Three, there was a negative beta weight (b = -93.366x) indicating that as a school district's percentage of the free/reduced meal program increased by one percentage point, the per pupil education tax credit decreased by 93 cents. This suggested that unified school districts with higher percentages of students eligible for the free/reduced meal program received lower per pupil education tax credit revenues.