A good man--and thorough! Clint Zweifel's hat in ring for Treasurer

So far, Rep. Clint Zweifel’s bid for Treasurer sounds like something I can get behind. He’s talking about studying the effects of policy, rather than just keeping the budget in check. I think that kind of initiative is much needed in the treasury—an oft-overlooked but very key office. It seems to me that Missouri has been in need of that kind of leadership as we consider the policies and programs that Missouri pays for and benefits from. If we have expenditures that aren’t seeing results, and our treasurer can mete these areas out, I see three main benefits: 1) We have more money in the budget for priorities that have been cut, like healthcare. 2) We can begin to work on ways to improve programs that aren’t financially viable to make them work for taxpayers and for beneficiaries. 3) Legislators will have an impetus to create laws that follow a close ratio of fiscal responsibility and maximum benefit.

One program that Rep. Zweifel will vote on in the legislature this year is Bryce’s Law, the scholarship tax credit program for special needs students to transfer to a private institution if their current public school isn’t meeting their needs.

Aside from the obvious social benefits, this makes budget sense as well. The program would set up an 80% tax credit for businesses or individuals who donate into a scholarship fund, and that money would go to IEP students (capped at 10% of all IEPs in Missouri) who aren’t benefiting from their local public school. While critics might argue that a tax credit decreases the amount of revenue collected (as a reason not to pass this bill), there are other ways in which the state saves.

First of all, taxpayers are no longer paying for a child who isn’t achieving, and the school district is relieved of the responsibility of trying to accommodate a child who is developmentally outside their capabilities. Moreover, most scholarships of this nature are far less than what the state pays per pupil, especially for students with an IEP—so what the state doesn’t collect in revenue from the tax credit is substantially less than what it saves, and states like Florida, Arizona and Ohio have seen substantial savings. Those savings can go back into public education.

The cost of caring for severe developmental disabilities and autism over a lifetime can run into the millions. With early intervention, however, many students are able to get back into mainstream education or learn to hold jobs and support themselves—and there is literally no price for that.