USA
October 18, 2003 VNN8409
Religious Schools Getting More Florida Vouchers
FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TALLAHASSEE, USA, Oct 18 (VNN) — The use of tax money at religious schools has mushroomed in the last year while an appeals court considers a lower court ruling that giving tax dollars to religious schools violates the Constitution.
Two-thirds of all private schools are religious, but about three-quarters of all schools using vouchers in Florida are religious. The Palm Beach Post said Sunday that 869 of the 1,158 private schools taking vouchers are religious schools.
They represent 48 different denominations, 97 percent of which are some denomination of Christianity, including 160 Catholic schools and 138 Baptist ones. Thirteen of the state's 38 Jewish schools, nine of the 11 Muslim schools and both of Florida's Hare Krishna schools get vouchers.
Circuit Judge Kevin Davey of Tallahassee ruled last year that tax-supported vouchers for religious schools violate the state constitution. But the schools were allowed to get voucher dollars during the appeal process.
''It cannot be denied that the amount of money that has left the state treasury for religious institutions has grown exponentially,'' said Ron Meyer, the lead lawyer fighting against the vouchers.
He successfully argued 14 months ago that such spending violates the clause of the state constitution that prohibits the state from using tax dollars to aid any church, sect or religious denomination.
Voucher supporters say parents who want their children to attend religious schools pay tax dollars, too, and should be entitled to use that money how they want, something that was impossible before vouchers.
''If tax dollars can go for the betterment of people who are righteous people, then there's nothing wrong with that,'' said Najmah Shabazz, a board member of the Al Furquan Academy, an Islamic school in Duval County that has 15 percent of its students on corporate tax credit vouchers worth $3,500 each.
Although the number of Opportunity Scholarships for parents of children at repeatedly failing schools -- the subject of the lawsuit -- has grown slightly, the overall number of vouchers has increased dramatically because of growth in Florida's two other voucher programs: the McKay Scholarship for disabled children and the Corporate Income Tax Scholarship for poorer children.
About 12,200 students use McKay scholarships to attend private schools, and about 12,300 children this year are receiving corporate tax vouchers. The corporate voucher enrollment could grow to as many as 25,000 because lawmakers increased the tax-credit limit on the program from $50 million to $88 million.
''Our principal position is you don't use tax dollars to advocate religion and if you are sending money to a religious school, any religious school, it's a violation,'' said Larry Spalding, legislative staff counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union in Florida.
© AP
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