Michael Baumgartner

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U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and Representative Michael Baumgartner urged Washington Governor Bob Ferguson to opt into the Education Freedom Tax Credit program, which could provide up to $1,700 per individual in tax credits for contributions to organizations that fund K-12 schol…

SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. — United States Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and Representative Michael Baumgartner discussed the Education Freedom Tax Credit program, "urging" Washington Governor Bob Ferguson to opt-in.

You can watch the whole press conference here:

During her comments, Secretary McMahon called the tax credit a "win-win" for Washingtonians.

According to fact sheets published by the U.S. Department of Education, the credit "provides up to $1,700 per individual ($3,400 for married couples filing jointly) for qualified cash contributions to a Scholarship Granting Organization."

Essentially, a cash contribution to a SGO would "reduce Federal income tax dollar-for dollar."

Scholarship Granting Organizations are "a qualifying public charity that awards scholarships to eligible K-12 students."

NonStop Local asked Secretary McMahon and Representative Baumgartner if regulations around public schools could be adjusted to create public charities that could become SGOs and in-turn assist in funding public schools.

"Public schools themselves, to my knowledge, may or may not be able to set up their own SGOs," Secretary McMahon said. "A lot of times (these) are outside organizations."

In terms of organizations creating public school SGOs, McMahon said "they need to be in the process now."

Michael Baumgartner pointed to several organizations that he said could serve as possible representatives of how the system would work.

"As an example, if Governor Ferguson were to opt in, I am not speaking for these organizations, but you can imagine how this would be extended immediately to take advantage of this," he explained. "One would be the Spokane public schools foundation, if they opted in and decided to use this tax credit for, lets say, after school band activities"

To participate in the program initially, Governor Ferguson would need to opt in by January 1, 2027.

NonStop Local reached out for a statement from the governor's office:

"The governor's position has not changed: He has made it clear we would review the rules thoroughly before making a decision. Now that we have the rules, that review is underway. That will take some time. When the governor makes a decision, he will announce it."

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