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Op-Ed:
This Mother’s Day, Illinois lawmakers need to preserve mom’s choice of
schools
Illinois Policy Institute/
Ann Miller
Mothers work hard, and for the past year
have worked harder than ever to keep their kids well fed, in clean
clothes, motivated, caught up in school and safe from a worldwide
pandemic. |
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 But this Mother’s Day, moms across Illinois are also worried
their kids will lose access to life-changing educational opportunities because
of scholarship cuts Gov. J.B. Pritzker is pushing in his latest budget proposal.
Instead of showing his appreciation for our mothers’ sacrifices in these
unprecedented times, Pritzker proposes cutting scholarships for low- and
middle-income families, the costs of which will disproportionately fall on
mothers.
Pritzker wants to reduce the tax credit donors receive in
exchange for giving to the Invest in Kids scholarship program, which provides a
lifeline for low- and middle-income families looking for alternative schooling
options that better meet their children’s needs. The governor wants to reduce
the current 75% tax credit to 40%, which he says will generate $14 million in
general revenue funds. Such a move makes children’s and mothers’ present lives
harder and puts their futures at risk.
“Prior to the scholarships, I was paying for [tuition], 100%,
by working extra shifts, or things of that nature to try to fill in the gap as
needed,” said Syreeta Plummer, the sole provider for her family in Chicago. “The
very first year [of the tax credit scholarship program], my daughter was able to
get 30% or 40% covered. Every little bit helps. So that was the extra money able
to go into the household for bills, food, expenses to live, etc. Every bit of
savings helps our family at some point or the other.”
Research out of the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana showed women who
faced income losses compensated through “delaying rent payments, delaying health
care, or spending less on food.” Moms shouldn’t be forced to choose between
providing a quality education for their children or putting food on the table.
Slashing the tax credit will make the program less attractive for donors and
lead to fewer educational opportunities for low-income families. According to
Empower Illinois, the average annual household income of participants is
$38,000, and 49% of participating students are Black or Hispanic: minorities and
mothers who have been unequally hurt by pandemic-related job losses.
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Research by the Illinois Policy Institute found
non-Hispanic Black Illinoisans were 9 percentage points less likely
to be employed compared to similar whites before COVID-19. That at a
time when many families have faced job loss of one or both parents,
school and day care closures have prolonged recovery and forced more
women than men out of the labor force to care for their children.
Studies show in Illinois, 4.5% of women with children left the labor
force compared to only 1.5% of men.
Bose Clodfelter’s husband lost his job before the pandemic hit. The
tax credit scholarship allowed her boys to continue their education
in Joliet private schools, where they are succeeding.
“We went through a really rough patch, and we were awarded the
scholarship that year. That was the first year that we were awarded
our scholarship. So, it actually came at the perfect time,”
Clodfelter said.
This Mother’s Day, the Illinois General Assembly and Pritzker can
lighten the load for mothers, especially single-parent households
and minorities. They can expand opportunities for families to access
the quality educations their kids deserve, as neighboring states
Indiana and Missouri are both doing.
Moms have it tough enough without politicians trying to block one of
the few ways lower-income children can thrive when public schools
don’t fit their needs.
Ann Miller is a writer for the Illinois Policy Institute.
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