Bob Schaffer: “Let me go back to the Arizona model because it has been studied heavily and it is probably the example of a State that…”

“Let me go back to the Arizona model because it has been studied heavily and it is probably the example of a State that has helped the greatest number of children through an education tax credit. It is useful and instructive for us to consider the Arizona model with respect to trying to project the potential impact for the company. The analysis suggests that in Arizona, the tax credit is revenue-neutral when it comes to the existing expenditures for schools. That is critical, because I think that argument is one we are going to have to make in Washington here, too, for some that have some concerns about that. But listen to this. It is estimated that by 2015 the scholarship credit in Arizona will be raising $58 million per year, funding 35- to 61,000 scholarships annually, and helping send 11,000 to 37,000 students who otherwise would have to attend a government-defined school to attend the school of their choice. Sixty-one thousand scholarships; 37,000 students would be helped. And Arizona is not the largest State in the Union by any means.”