Headlines
KS: House blocks tax credits for private school tuition
MD: Legislation to privatize Maryland’s workers comp fund moves forward
‎OH: Faculty challenges parking privatization option at Ohio State

KS: House blocks tax credits for private school tuition
A bill that would have provided tax credits for those who contributed to scholarships to send students to private schools was rejected by the House on Monday…State Rep. Jim Ward, D-Wichita, tried to eliminate the bill and replace it with one that would raise public school funding by $150 million over two years to restore a portion of the cuts made to schools in recent years. “I have a scholarship program for every child that enters public schools. I’m going to call it state aid,” Ward said. His amendment failed. Other opponents said giving tax credits would drain tax revenue to the state general fund that goes to public schools. State Rep. Bob Brookens, R-Marion, said the measure was in conflict with the duty of the Legislature concerning public education. “Is it our duty to use tax dollars and tax policy to send Kansas money to private schools? Kansas was built on and Kansas will live or die on its public education,” Brookens said. State Rep. Bill Otto, R-LeRoy, said he feared that “schools that may not agree with your values or my values,” could benefit from the proposal. The Lawrence Journal-World

MD: Legislation to privatize Maryland’s workers comp fund moves forward
‎S.B. 745 would require Maryland’s Injured Workers’ Insurance Fund to restructure itself into a private workers comp insurer named Chesapeake Employers’ Insurance Co. The fund has been Maryland’s workers comp insurer of last resort since 1914, according to a draft of the legislation. The bill asks the Maryland Insurance Administration to conduct an independent study to determine what financial benefits the fund has gained from the state. Based on the study results, the state fund would need to pay at least $50 million to Maryland’s general revenue fund, plus any additional money determined by the insurance administration review.  Business Insurance

OH: Faculty challenges parking privatization option at Ohio State
The university’s plan to lease the parking assets to an outside vendor could bring in big money for the academic core, but some faculty members say it comes at a price..Paul Beck, an OSU professor in the political science department and member of the faculty council, said one reason many faculty members oppose the change is due to the private operator being permitted to raise parking prices by 7.5 percent each year for the first 10 years, or the price of inflation, whichever is higher. This rate is much higher than the average 4.8 increase for an ‘A’ permit from 2003 to 2012, according to the resolution. “The more I thought about it, the more I thought this is unfair,” Beck said. “Not only to faculty and staff, but for students as well because they are paying double. First they are paying for their tuition, but then they’re being hit again by increasing parking prices.”..Enrico Bonello, an OSU professor in plant pathology and member of faculty council, said faculty council members want the administration to make them more involved in the process and informed of actions being taken…“We teach our students to be open and objective and I think the university should do the same,” he said. “We just wanted to get information that we need to have to be able to make this decision and they’re not giving us that information.”..Beck said he understands the university’s efforts to try to profit from parking, but the profitable benefits are nonexistent.  “As I began to dig more deeply and listen to the administration talk about what it’s going to do with the money, I realized they are trying to spend the proceeds twice and they can’t do that of course,” he said. The Lantern