As a New Hampshire parent of two K-12 children, one with special needs, I would like to share why an increase in eligibility for Education Freedom Accounts and the Education Tax Credit Scholarship Program is a critical need for families like ours.
When my family lived in New York, my then 6-year-old son Konnor was being homeschooled and we were receiving online services for his IEP. Konnor was not making any progress and it made homeschooling him very difficult. In May 2021, my husband and I made the decision to move to New Hampshire for the increased freedoms available in this state, and a better educational setting for Konnor and his sister Kyleigh.
We were able to find a speech therapist and occupational therapist to work with Konnor and a small private school for him to attend. That was a good solution initially, although as a single-income family (my husband is the sole provider), the costs proved incredibly challenging. We applied for the Educational Freedom Account (EFA) and Educational Tax Credit Scholarship program (ETC). However we were denied each time because our income just exceeds the current income limits.
Early on, I was able to work out an agreement with the school to volunteer my time in exchange for tuition. That was working for a while until our grocery, gas, and other household expenses skyrocketed due to inflation. We stuck with it until this past fall, when we started to see bullying and anxiety issues with Konnor. We decided to homeschool both Konnor and Kayleigh for the remainder of the year, creating another unexpected expense of curriculum for both children.
Then five days later…… our world changed forever.
My husband was rushed via ambulance to the local emergency room on Election Day. I thought it was just something simple like dehydration, but it turned into him having a large mass in his brain. He was life flighted via helicopter from Keene to Lebanon and prepped for emergency brain surgery to remove some of the mass and reduce the intercranial pressure in his head. We almost lost him that day. He then needed to have another surgery to try and remove what remained of the mass. But sadly, the doctors were only able to remove 98 percent of it. He has been diagnosed with having a stage 4 Glioblastoma – incurable brain cancer. The average life span from diagnosis to death is about 16 months.
My husband is currently undergoing radiation and chemotherapy to help buy a little more time with our children, who are now six and 10 years old. With our lives turned upside down, we made the decision to place our children in another small private school that is in alignment with our faith and our children’s learning styles. Now the question was, “How do we pay for their education?”
I reached out to our local parish, and they graciously provided us with some support for the children’s education. But we were still coming up short.
After filing a FACTS application for tuition assistance and relaying our family’s saga, we received scholarships for the remainder of this year. As great as this is, we do not know how we will be able to provide for our children in future years.
The bottom line is this: The EFA and ETC programs exclude our family even though we are clearly in a position of need. The program only looks at our income within a certain timeframe without consideration of current expenses or life situation. One never knows when tragedy may strike. We utilize expensive medical providers that are not covered under our health insurance. We also eat a specific diet due to health issues, so our grocery bills are almost double the average 4-person household.
If we were able to qualify for the EFA and ETC programs, it would lift a significant burden off both mine and my dying husband’s shoulders. I have started a small business to bring in some income; however I can only work part time as I must be home for the children and my husband. It is unknown if he will ever return to work and disability only covers so much. We have no family close to us, so day to day things fall upon my shoulders.
When you are dealing with cancer, it is a lot of waiting. Waiting for treatment, waiting for results, waiting to see if you will live or die. I do not wish what our family is going through on anyone; a parent should never have to say goodbye to their young children.
I am asking everyone to please read our story and think about how your voice (and for legislators, your vote) could make a huge impact in the lives of families like mine. Please, I ask you from the bottom of my heart, and my husband’s as well, to remove the income limits and give families like ours the freedom to let our children flourish educationally.
