Oklahoma's tax credit program to help with private school costs underway after delay

After a delayed start, Oklahoma's new tax credit program to help parents with private school costs, got rolling at 2 p.m. Wednesday.

An unexpected glitch spoiled the scheduled opening of the program's application portal last week, but Caroline Rajchel, a spokesperson for Merit, the outside firm hired to set up the website and manage its operation, confirmed that all was working.

"We are live, and applications are coming in," Rajchel said.

One parent confirmed to The Oklahoman that at 2:50 p.m. he received a confirmation email from "Merit International, Inc." that: "We have received your application for the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit."

Rajchel said she was uncertain when she would be able to say how quickly applications were coming in or how many had been received in the first hours of the program's start.

"We have a protocol we have to follow," she said. "We will give the data and stats to you as soon as they've cleared the review and approval process."

The confirmation note sent to parents included this message: "Please note that for the first 60 days of the application period, only those applications from or on behalf of student Households in which the total federal Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) is $150,000 or less will be reviewed. Once the priority consideration period has ended, and all priority Applicants submitted during that period have been approved and notified of their award, all other Applicants can expect to be notified of approval status within approximately 14 days of submission of a processible application."

Will the delay impact when families will see the tax credit?

The Oklahoma Tax Commission had said in announcing the delay in the program's start that it "did not anticipate that postponement of the application start date will delay disbursement of the first installment payments."

One parent planning to apply for a tax credit changed his mind at the last minute.

Shortly after the program start was delayed last week, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt told the news outlet Oklahoma Watch that he and his family intended to apply for the credit.

On Wednesday, the governor said after thinking about it, he decided not to apply after all.

“I think my wife was planning to fill out the form,” Stitt told the outlet last week. “Everybody knows what my salary is as the state of Oklahoma governor. Every bit helps. There’s caps on it, where we’re going to prioritize it with the $75,000 and $150,000 (income levels) all in one bucket. But we’re all anxious to find out how many people are out there, how many people sign up for it, and also how many new schools are started, which I’m real excited to see.”

More: Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit open for applications after delay

As governor, Stitt receives a salary of $147,000, though as founder of Gateway Mortgage Group, the self-made millionaire is worth substantially more. He pumped $1.9 million of his own money into his 2022 reelection campaign and close to $5 million into his 2018 campaign.

Three of the governor's children attend private schools.

However, on Wednesday morning, Stitt’s spokesman Abegail Cave said the governor, upon reflection about the issue, decided not to apply for the tax credit.

“The Governor encourages all Oklahoma families to apply for the tax credit,” Cave wrote in an email to The Oklahoman. “He did say he would, but after talking to his wife, they decided to not apply and make sure other Oklahoma families have the opportunity to get the credit.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma launches private school tax credit program following delay