December 17, 2025 • 10 mins
ABOUT THOSE EDUCATION TAX CREDITS POLIS JUST SIGNED UP FOR There is a lot of confusion from Colorado Democrats who think a modest tax credit given to those who donate to programs that give scholarships to kids wanting more from their education are robbing the public school system. Nothing could be further from the truth. I've got Norton Rainey, CEO of ACE Scholarships on at 2:30 to talk about it. ACE Scholarships (headquartered in Denver) a nonprofit K-12 SGO that’s been delivering scholarships for 25 years is going to discuss Polis’ decision, what it means for Colorado, and how this tax credit will deliver educational freedom to thousands of Colorado families. Find out more about ACE by clicking here.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Norton Rainey. He's the CEO of ACE Scholarships, a nonprofit
K through twelve sgo that's scholarship granting organization that's been
delivering scholarships for twenty five years. First of all, Norton
welcomed the show. First of all, let's talk for a
second about how A Scholarships came to be, because this
feels like an expansion that we're talking about now that
(00:23):
that could be really amazing. But how did A Scholarships
get off the ground?
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Mandy, thanks so much for having me on the show.
To everyone, it is a honor to really talk about
what we think is one of the most important opportunities
in our country has seen in a long time, this
federal tax credit. Maybe it's your question. ACE was founded
twenty five years ago by some remarkable business leaders who
really wanted a better denver for low income children who
were being left behind. We knew twenty five years ago
(00:51):
that children were not being educated, and the premise of
ACE was to put them in a private K through
twelve school and we did this through a partial tuition scholarship.
And twenty five years later, the same thing goes on,
and that is that our kids are not being educated.
But here's what's really exciting. When you put a kid
and you let a parent choose the school that's right
for them, we see extraordinary success evidenced by ninety nine
(01:14):
percent of our kids graduating from high school. They go
to college, the trades, the military, They love America, and
they're actually improving their communities in our society. And we're
doing this for far less money than a traditional public school.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
You know, That's the thing people don't understand. We all
have this, you know, impression that private schools are always
millions and millions of dollars. I'm being sarcastic, but the
reality is is that most private schools operate on leaner
budgets than we have per pupil for the public school system.
Their teachers don't get the same kind of benefits on
the back end that public school teachers get. But they
(01:48):
also tend to have students that are a little more
motivated across the board than some public school students. So
I want to ask you this, how does this program
that the Trump administration is now promoting that Jared Police
assigned us up for, how does it work? How does
that go with what you guys do is it similar,
is it the same?
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Well, first of all, there is a tremendous misconception. It's
one of the biggest myths in the school choice movement
that private schools are these elite institutions that are completely
out of reach for families. And if you live in Denver,
you're probably thinking in terms of a couple of elite
schools that yes, r we are expensive, but the majority
of our schools, the tuitions ride around ten thousand per year,
(02:30):
so they're actually very affordable, and that's about six thousand
less per child than you would have in a Denver
public school, where the most is staggering these days. So
this new program that was created by I would say
it was signed into law in the Big Beautiful Bill
by President Donald Trump is historic. It creates a federal
tax credit which in twenty twenty seven enables every American
(02:52):
to participate by contributing up to seventeen hundred dollars to
a qualified program like ACE Scholarships or Scholarship Granton Organization,
and they can claim a credit when they file their taxes.
It's really important to understand the distinction between a deduction
at credit. A deduction would be your traditional donation you
make to a charity, A credit is a dollar for
(03:13):
dollar credit that when you file your taxes you actually
get that money back. So I want to say thank
you to leaders in Washington, thank you to our president
who's now making this possible in all fifty states. But
I also would be remiss if I did not think
our governor jareded poulish Jared Poulis, like you mentioned, he's
doing something really cool. He's bucking the trend, and he's
(03:35):
saying I support school choice. In fact, the governor has
been a long time supporter of school choice in Colorado.
He's actually written checks to ACE over the years. He
started charter school, so he's always believed in the power
of putting kids in the school that's right for them.
And we really commend him for signing or not signing,
but saying he intends to opt in as the a
federal school choice state.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
Now let me ask you this, Norton, because it is
my understanding that that you can make a donation, and
of course donating the ACE would be amazing, and you
guys are helping kids go to good private schools, but
can this also be used to support a public school
student who may need tutoring or have some additional needs.
(04:17):
Is that what I see as well?
Speaker 2 (04:19):
Yeah, this program, there is no reason why any governor
in the country should be opting out of this program.
And the reason why is because what you just said,
this program is so robust. It could be a private school,
it could be before natural school programs, tutoring services, anything
that enhances your education, which means there is money available
for our public school system as well. So there's no
excuse not to participate. And sadly, we are going to
(04:43):
see politicians around the country who will not participate in
this program, usually politicians who are probably being led by
the teachers union. The unions do not support this. They
feel as competition and really what it comes down to
they recognize their schools are filling and they've been filling
us for a long time. In this date. This states
back for decades in our country where we're spending extraordinary
(05:06):
amounts of money and we're just not getting the return
on investment we should. And honestly, it is our most
precious resource, our children, and it all begins with education.
A educated child, an educated workplace means it we're going
to be better as the country economically.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
So let me ask this question because you just brought
up the fact that there are politicians who are against this,
and one of them too, I think now both. I
believe Michael Bennet has come out against it, but Phil Wisner,
one of our candidates for governor on the Democratic primary side,
has said this takes money away from public education, which
(05:41):
is patently false. The notion that somehow allowing people to
make a donation to an organization of their choice that
will then grant some kind of scholarship to students, none
of this money would have ever gone to the public
school system. I mean, that's that's the easiest way to
say it. That's correct. So that's an absurd way to
(06:03):
demagog against us.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Now you know that it absolutely is man that you
are correct. Public school funding will continue to grow. It
always grows. Even when school choice programs from the country
are implemented, whether it's a state tax credit program or
it's say education savings account, the cost educated kid continues
to rise in public school funding, and also teacher funding
has continued to rise over the years. So this will
(06:29):
only enhance our system. But more importantly, we live in
the greatest country in the world. That we allow Americans
to choose the home they buy, the car they purchase,
the clothing, they buy anything in this country. We are
free in this democratic society. This is the one area
where you're trapped by your zip code. If you're in
a zip code in your child's failing, our system is
saying you have no choice, particularly if you're poor. So
(06:52):
this program now is giving people a choice, and that
means we're going to fill the seats in our private schools.
There's going to be more funding for public schools now
as well. So once again, there's absolutely no reason why
any governor should not be on opting into this program.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
I agree wholeheartedly. I'm talking to Norton Haney. He's with
ACE Scholarships. They provide scholarships to K through twelve students
who want to opt out of public schools and go
to private schools. You mentioned earlier, you guys do a
fifty percent tuition scholarship. Why only fifty percent when that
probably that last you know, five hundred dollars a month.
(07:27):
Maybe out of reach for some families and poverty.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
Yeah, if they average income for a faamily Staer in
Colorado is wrid around sixty thousand per year, and so
these are pretty poor families after taxes. So the fact
they would have put their kid into private school, it
means something is not working out. They want their child
to have a better education and they want them simply
to have a life that's greater for them. So our
commitment is about four thousand per year. That means it's
(07:52):
not covering the full tuition, and that means the school
is going to give them a scholarship. But more importantly,
it means the families have skin in the game. Right,
average family contributions about two thousand per year. Think about that, man,
how remarkable is that If you only made sixty thousand
per year and who knows what you're making after taxes,
and you're contributing two thousand of your harder money to
(08:13):
put your kid in a private school, that means something's
not working out well for you. And honestly, that's why
our program works really well. It's that three way partnership
between the school, the family, and ACE and our money
is making a big difference. But the sad part, we
have thousands of families in the state right now that
are applying every year and they're being left behind. So
we're actually not letting every American and every Colorado and
(08:34):
experience the American dream. Thankfully, our donors have been very,
very generous, and we've got about five thousand kids on
scholarship in Colorado. But we can do a lot more
immediately and long term with this federal credit. We plan
on doing so much more, so we can radically change
Colorado and make this one of the greatest states in
the country, not just a state that's attracting talent and
(08:55):
an educated workforce, but a state that really is delivering
on its promise to an sure every child is being
educated and they can live in a prosperous society and
they can be independent on their own accord.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
When can people get this seventeen hundred dollars tax credit?
Does that start January first? Or they can they get
it in this this year?
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Well, it begins in twenty twenty seven, but in twenty
twenty six we'll start collecting pledges. In the meantime, I
would encourage people to go to our website at Acescholarships
dot org and what we want you to do is
sign up an express an interest to be involved, and
that way we can communicate with you and when the
opportunity is there, we can get you plugged in as
(09:34):
a donor and then we'll facilitate everything to ensure kids
go to school. We will make sure that you get
your receipts and then best of all, you will get
a refund from the government when you file your taxes.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Amen to that. Norton Rainey from the A Scholarships Group,
I appreciate your time today and really appreciate the fact
that you've been working so hard to help kids, no
matter what their financial circumstances, be able to tap into
a great education. I appreciate your time today.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Hey, I appreciate you. Thanks meeting
Norton Rainey. He's the CEO of ACE Scholarships, a nonprofit
K through twelve sgo that's scholarship granting organization that's been
delivering scholarships for twenty five years. First of all, Norton
welcomed the show. First of all, let's talk for a
second about how A Scholarships came to be, because this
feels like an expansion that we're talking about now that
(00:23):
that could be really amazing. But how did A Scholarships
get off the ground?
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Mandy, thanks so much for having me on the show.
To everyone, it is a honor to really talk about
what we think is one of the most important opportunities
in our country has seen in a long time, this
federal tax credit. Maybe it's your question. ACE was founded
twenty five years ago by some remarkable business leaders who
really wanted a better denver for low income children who
were being left behind. We knew twenty five years ago
(00:51):
that children were not being educated, and the premise of
ACE was to put them in a private K through
twelve school and we did this through a partial tuition scholarship.
And twenty five years later, the same thing goes on,
and that is that our kids are not being educated.
But here's what's really exciting. When you put a kid
and you let a parent choose the school that's right
for them, we see extraordinary success evidenced by ninety nine
(01:14):
percent of our kids graduating from high school. They go
to college, the trades, the military, They love America, and
they're actually improving their communities in our society. And we're
doing this for far less money than a traditional public school.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
You know, That's the thing people don't understand. We all
have this, you know, impression that private schools are always
millions and millions of dollars. I'm being sarcastic, but the
reality is is that most private schools operate on leaner
budgets than we have per pupil for the public school system.
Their teachers don't get the same kind of benefits on
the back end that public school teachers get. But they
(01:48):
also tend to have students that are a little more
motivated across the board than some public school students. So
I want to ask you this, how does this program
that the Trump administration is now promoting that Jared Police
assigned us up for, how does it work? How does
that go with what you guys do is it similar,
is it the same?
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Well, first of all, there is a tremendous misconception. It's
one of the biggest myths in the school choice movement
that private schools are these elite institutions that are completely
out of reach for families. And if you live in Denver,
you're probably thinking in terms of a couple of elite
schools that yes, r we are expensive, but the majority
of our schools, the tuitions ride around ten thousand per year,
(02:30):
so they're actually very affordable, and that's about six thousand
less per child than you would have in a Denver
public school, where the most is staggering these days. So
this new program that was created by I would say
it was signed into law in the Big Beautiful Bill
by President Donald Trump is historic. It creates a federal
tax credit which in twenty twenty seven enables every American
(02:52):
to participate by contributing up to seventeen hundred dollars to
a qualified program like ACE Scholarships or Scholarship Granton Organization,
and they can claim a credit when they file their taxes.
It's really important to understand the distinction between a deduction
at credit. A deduction would be your traditional donation you
make to a charity, A credit is a dollar for
(03:13):
dollar credit that when you file your taxes you actually
get that money back. So I want to say thank
you to leaders in Washington, thank you to our president
who's now making this possible in all fifty states. But
I also would be remiss if I did not think
our governor jareded poulish Jared Poulis, like you mentioned, he's
doing something really cool. He's bucking the trend, and he's
(03:35):
saying I support school choice. In fact, the governor has
been a long time supporter of school choice in Colorado.
He's actually written checks to ACE over the years. He
started charter school, so he's always believed in the power
of putting kids in the school that's right for them.
And we really commend him for signing or not signing,
but saying he intends to opt in as the a
federal school choice state.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
Now let me ask you this, Norton, because it is
my understanding that that you can make a donation, and
of course donating the ACE would be amazing, and you
guys are helping kids go to good private schools, but
can this also be used to support a public school
student who may need tutoring or have some additional needs.
(04:17):
Is that what I see as well?
Speaker 2 (04:19):
Yeah, this program, there is no reason why any governor
in the country should be opting out of this program.
And the reason why is because what you just said,
this program is so robust. It could be a private school,
it could be before natural school programs, tutoring services, anything
that enhances your education, which means there is money available
for our public school system as well. So there's no
excuse not to participate. And sadly, we are going to
(04:43):
see politicians around the country who will not participate in
this program, usually politicians who are probably being led by
the teachers union. The unions do not support this. They
feel as competition and really what it comes down to
they recognize their schools are filling and they've been filling
us for a long time. In this date. This states
back for decades in our country where we're spending extraordinary
(05:06):
amounts of money and we're just not getting the return
on investment we should. And honestly, it is our most
precious resource, our children, and it all begins with education.
A educated child, an educated workplace means it we're going
to be better as the country economically.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
So let me ask this question because you just brought
up the fact that there are politicians who are against this,
and one of them too, I think now both. I
believe Michael Bennet has come out against it, but Phil Wisner,
one of our candidates for governor on the Democratic primary side,
has said this takes money away from public education, which
(05:41):
is patently false. The notion that somehow allowing people to
make a donation to an organization of their choice that
will then grant some kind of scholarship to students, none
of this money would have ever gone to the public
school system. I mean, that's that's the easiest way to
say it. That's correct. So that's an absurd way to
(06:03):
demagog against us.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Now you know that it absolutely is man that you
are correct. Public school funding will continue to grow. It
always grows. Even when school choice programs from the country
are implemented, whether it's a state tax credit program or
it's say education savings account, the cost educated kid continues
to rise in public school funding, and also teacher funding
has continued to rise over the years. So this will
(06:29):
only enhance our system. But more importantly, we live in
the greatest country in the world. That we allow Americans
to choose the home they buy, the car they purchase,
the clothing, they buy anything in this country. We are
free in this democratic society. This is the one area
where you're trapped by your zip code. If you're in
a zip code in your child's failing, our system is
saying you have no choice, particularly if you're poor. So
(06:52):
this program now is giving people a choice, and that
means we're going to fill the seats in our private schools.
There's going to be more funding for public schools now
as well. So once again, there's absolutely no reason why
any governor should not be on opting into this program.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
I agree wholeheartedly. I'm talking to Norton Haney. He's with
ACE Scholarships. They provide scholarships to K through twelve students
who want to opt out of public schools and go
to private schools. You mentioned earlier, you guys do a
fifty percent tuition scholarship. Why only fifty percent when that
probably that last you know, five hundred dollars a month.
(07:27):
Maybe out of reach for some families and poverty.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
Yeah, if they average income for a faamily Staer in
Colorado is wrid around sixty thousand per year, and so
these are pretty poor families after taxes. So the fact
they would have put their kid into private school, it
means something is not working out. They want their child
to have a better education and they want them simply
to have a life that's greater for them. So our
commitment is about four thousand per year. That means it's
(07:52):
not covering the full tuition, and that means the school
is going to give them a scholarship. But more importantly,
it means the families have skin in the game. Right,
average family contributions about two thousand per year. Think about that, man,
how remarkable is that If you only made sixty thousand
per year and who knows what you're making after taxes,
and you're contributing two thousand of your harder money to
(08:13):
put your kid in a private school, that means something's
not working out well for you. And honestly, that's why
our program works really well. It's that three way partnership
between the school, the family, and ACE and our money
is making a big difference. But the sad part, we
have thousands of families in the state right now that
are applying every year and they're being left behind. So
we're actually not letting every American and every Colorado and
(08:34):
experience the American dream. Thankfully, our donors have been very,
very generous, and we've got about five thousand kids on
scholarship in Colorado. But we can do a lot more
immediately and long term with this federal credit. We plan
on doing so much more, so we can radically change
Colorado and make this one of the greatest states in
the country, not just a state that's attracting talent and
(08:55):
an educated workforce, but a state that really is delivering
on its promise to an sure every child is being
educated and they can live in a prosperous society and
they can be independent on their own accord.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
When can people get this seventeen hundred dollars tax credit?
Does that start January first? Or they can they get
it in this this year?
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Well, it begins in twenty twenty seven, but in twenty
twenty six we'll start collecting pledges. In the meantime, I
would encourage people to go to our website at Acescholarships
dot org and what we want you to do is
sign up an express an interest to be involved, and
that way we can communicate with you and when the
opportunity is there, we can get you plugged in as
(09:34):
a donor and then we'll facilitate everything to ensure kids
go to school. We will make sure that you get
your receipts and then best of all, you will get
a refund from the government when you file your taxes.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Amen to that. Norton Rainey from the A Scholarships Group,
I appreciate your time today and really appreciate the fact
that you've been working so hard to help kids, no
matter what their financial circumstances, be able to tap into
a great education. I appreciate your time today.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Hey, I appreciate you. Thanks meeting
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