The reasons Gov. John Lynch gave for vetoing Senate Bill 372, the education scholarship bill, reflected a misunderstanding of the way the bill would work.

“This bill shifts limited state funds away from public school districts, it will downshift the cost of reduced adequacy payments to local communities and property tax payers, it allows private organizations to determine the use of public education funds, and does not fully target scholarship funds to students most in need of help with tuition and other educational expenses,” Lynch wrote in his veto announcement. Actually:

-- The bill saves the state money. The scholarships average $2,500. Businesses would get a tax credit for only 85 percent of their scholarship donations; 85 percent of $2,500 is $2,125. State per-pupil aid is $3,450. The difference between $3,450 and $2,125 is $1,325. The state keeps that.

-- If a student takes the scholarship, the public school does not have to educate him. That means lower class sizes. Under SB 372, if a school district loses more than 1/4 of 1 percent of its budget to students taking scholarships, the state must reimburse the district for any amount over 1/4 of 1 percent. So districts that lose a few students would lose only a little money, no more than they would lose in the normal year-to-year population fluctuations. Districts that lose a lot of students would be reimbursed for some of that money. Now, they lose all $3,450 when families switch schools.

-- The Legislature sets scholarship eligibility, and parents, not private organizations, pick the schools.

-- As Charles Arlinghaus notes in his column today, the bill limits scholarships to children in families making less than 300 percent of the federal poverty level. Lynch's assertion that it is not means tested is wrong.

Legislators should override this veto, which was bad enough to make one wonder whether Lynch had read the bill.