Article was not a balanced report

To the editor:

While it's laudable to review the facts around School Tuition Organizations ('Little oversight for private credits,” Aug. 16) and the tax credits that fund them, this article and the headlines went beyond the facts, and reverted to innuendo in an attempt to create a story where none exists.

Xavier High School is the largest recipient of STO dollars in Cedar Rapids. Like the rest of the Archdiocese of Dubuque, our parents qualify for STO funds by providing tax returns to PSAS which determines the grant. By using PSAS, we ensure grants are need-based and meet the intent of the legislation. This would have been very easy to clarify upfront in the article.

Instead these facts are buried at the end of the article. The misleading headlines say 'little oversight” and 'can't track abuses”. Furthermore, the article leads with references to a controversy over funding public vs. private schools, the film tax credit abuses, and then veers off to allege that STO dollars may be used to recruit promising athletes.

I have been a member of the Xavier Finance Committee for nearly 10 years and have reviewed nearly all aid applications. The athletic talent of a recipient student has never been a factor in an aid discussion.

So while an article about STO tax credits is a worthy topic, this was not a balanced report trying to educate and inform.

Pat Deignan

Chair, Xavier High School Finance Committee

Cedar Rapids