Pa. Tax Credits Underwrite Tuition Donations For Phila. K-8 Students
By Mike DeNardo
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Two thousand Philadelphia students are getting some major help with their tuition for Catholic or private schools.
The ceremony today at the Merriam Theatre saw each of the students, K-8, get four-year scholarships to private or Catholic schools.
The money comes from a group called the Children's Scholarship Fund Philadelphia -- from businesses who get Pennsylvania corporate tax credits for contributing.
Marilyn Figueroa, of the Andorra section of the city (below), is using her scholarship to send her daughter, Jenna, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary Elementary School.
"They still have the curriculums that we're looking for," she said today. "The art, the gyms, the sciences -- things that are a little extra that some of the public schools have taken away."
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The scholarships are available to students with in the boundaries of the district's worst-performing schools. Philadelphia public schools superintendent William Hite was on hand.
"Naturally, I would much rather see these children in our schools. But I'm not going to excuse away any low-performing school," he said.