Letter: Giving families choices

Bill Duncan’s column (Monitor Forum, Nov. 15) about a proposed education savings account program incorrectly claimed the legislation was “written by and for a national organization, the Children’s Scholarship Fund, because the New Hampshire business community did not support the 2012 voucher program by using the tax credits the program offers,” but we thank him for giving us a reason to tell readers what is really happening.

CSF is a nonprofit organization with New Hampshire offices, and we did not write the proposed legislation. We remain focused on expanding educational opportunity by providing scholarships to meet growing demand – families of more than 1,800 New Hampshire K-12 students applied in 2017-18 alone. These families could not otherwise afford educational alternatives to better meet their children’s individual needs.

We are grateful that, as awareness of the education tax credit grows, scholarship contributions to CSF have been increasing steadily for the past three years, resulting in significantly more low- and middle-income families having the freedom to choose the best education for their child. This school year, the number of children using CSF scholarships to attend private, parochial and home schools of all types doubled from the previous year. Scholarships can also be used to attend out-of-district public schools, opening up even more options for families who need alternatives to their neighborhood schools.

Far from attacking public schools, CSF offers New Hampshire families more choices, and offers their children more chances to fulfill their potential.

KATE BAKER

Concord

DARLA M. ROMFO

New York City

(Baker is executive director and Romfo is president and COO of the Children’s Scholarship Fund.)