The Mountain Home School Board is expressing its opposition to an Arkansas General Assembly bill establishing education savings accounts in the state. In a special meeting Saturday morning, the board voted unanimously to approve a resolution opposing House Bill 1222, also known as the Arkansas Parental Empowerment for Education Choice Act of 2017.
The bill passed in the House Education Committee on Thursday, and it is set to go before the full House of Representatives. According to Little Rock television station KARK, the bill would be funded through a tax-credit scholarship in which donations could be made by individuals and corporations to a nonprofit organization providing money to parents seeking a private or home school education for their children. Contributors to the organizations overseeing the accounts would receive an income tax credit from the state equal to 65 percent of the donation, and they would also qualify for a federal income tax deduction
In its resoultion, the Mountain Home School Board says the state of Arkansas has a constitutional responsibility to provide funding to all public school districts in the state in order to provide each child an adequate education. All members present agreed HB 1222 would compromise the resources necessary for Mountain Home to provide an education to its students.
District 64 Representative John Payton of Wilburn, whose district includes portions of Baxter, Marion, Searcy and Stone Counties, is one of the co-sponsors of HB 1222. The lead sponsor is District 93 Representative Jim Dotson of Bentonville.
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