JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMOX) - A bill to allow tax credits for supporting private schools has passed a key vote in the Missouri House. It's not quite the bill many had hoped for, but St. Peters Rep. Phil Christofanelli says it's better than nothing.
Under his plan, which earned a perfection vote Wednesday, would allow donors to give money to non-profits to hand out private school scholarships. The donors would get state tax credits equal to the amount they donated.
The schools could use the money from the organizations for a variety of education expenses. After the perfection vote - where legislation is agreed to as a final version - it must get one more vote of approval before being sent to the Senate. It barely made the minimum 82 votes to advance on an 83 to 71 vote.
Christofanelli's compromise plan is for urban areas only. It applies only in cities of 30,000 or more residents because rural Republican lawmakers wanted no part of it. They contend, as many Democrats do, the state tax credits would eventually come out of the budgets of local public schools.
"We have school choice in this country." He told fellow lawmakers in arguing for his bill. "If you are a person of means, you can send your child to the school of your choosing. But if you do not have means, you don't have a choice... and that's what this bill tries to rectify."
The Missouri Senate had considered a tax credit bill for parents sending kids to private schools, but that stalled after 12 hours of debate on a trio of education proposals this week. It's unclear what kind of reception the scholarship state tax credit for donors would get it the Senate, should it make it that far.
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