The Gazette: Campaign Almanac: Iowa ad urges GOP presidential candidates to back federal school choice bill - Invest in Education

The Gazette: Campaign Almanac: Iowa ad urges GOP presidential candidates to back federal school choice bill

Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau, September 21, 2023

A national school choice advocacy group launched a TV and digital ad campaign this week in Iowa ahead of the second Republican presidential primary debate Sept. 27 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California.

The ad features Reagan advocating for school choice four decades ago and closes with a plea for GOP presidential candidates to support federal school choice legislation.

The bill would add an additional $5,000 to the roughly $7,600 offered by Iowa’s private school education savings accounts, according to the Invest in Education Coalition — providing middle- and low-income families in Iowa more resources to send their child to private school or use for other services such as tutoring.

The legislation is endorsed by the Iowa Christian conservative group The Family Leader and Iowa Alliance for Choice in Education. All four of Iowa’s Republican U.S. House Members are co-sponsors of the bill (Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Ashley Hinson, Randy Feenstra and Zach Nunn).

The Invest in Education Coalition is asking the GOP presidential candidates to make “education freedom” for K-12 parents and students a governing priority should they become president.

The legislation creates a federal tax credit for donations to tax-exempt organizations that provide scholarships to K-12 students to attend private school. To qualify, a family’s household must be 300 percent or less of the area median gross income and have a student eligible to enroll in a public elementary or secondary school.

Scholarships are funded with private donations, not federal money, and individual and business donors receive a tax credit on their federal income tax liability. Students could use scholarships for tuition, tutoring, special needs services or education technology.

“Every parent should have the opportunity to choose a school that meets their children’s needs and sets them up for success whether it’s public, private, or charter,” Anthony de Nicola, chairman of the Invest in Education Coalition, said in a statement.

Read the full article by Gazette-Lee Moines Bureau here.

Robert Flanigan

Treasurer and Secretary, Invest in Education Foundation
Partner, Educate, LLC

Bob founded Educate with Frank Hardart because they shared a vision and saw a problem. The vision: every child in every school deserves a chance to succeed. The problem: teachers were equipped with technology, but lacked the support to use it and transform education. Digital tools are more affordable than ever—but schools need guidance to realize their potential. As one of two partners at Educate, Bob works with school leaders to realize these goals and define the process of tech coaching, while supporting coaches and managing the company’s internal organization.

Coming from the corporate finance worlds of Merrill Lynch and JP Morgan, Bob knows that teamwork is essential to accomplishing anything meaningful. As a father of four freewheeling children, he knows that every single student is someone’s beloved child. Raised in Westchester County, Bob lives there today with his wife and kids, where he enjoys hiking, fishing, camping, and exploring the outdoors.

Susan B. George

Invest in Education Foundation
Executive Director, Inner-City Scholarship Fund, Inc.

Susan George is a nationally recognized nonprofit leader who is passionate about providing aid and opportunities for individuals in need. She currently serves as Chief Advancement and Stewardship Officer at the Archdiocese of New York, overseeing development initiatives that raise over $50 million annually to support the Church of New York, the Alfred E. Smith Foundation, Catholic education, and underserved communities.

In her previous role, Susan was the Executive Director of the Office of Catholic Education Advancement and Inner-City Scholarship Fund, where she raised over $500 million and launched a capital campaign for a scholarship program that supports 8,000 inner-city children annually.

In addition to her role in education, she has worked closely with the Archbishop of New York and his senior management to plan two Papal visits to the city of New York.

Susan has transformed the board of three organizations through her ability to connect alumni and business leaders with the mission of their colleges and education. Today she manages a board of over 30 individuals including many leaders from Fortune 500 companies.

Prior to joining the archdiocese, Susan was at Teachers College, Columbia University where she was a Director of Major Gifts and initially an Associate Director of Major Gifts and Stewardship. There she managed relationships with trustees and other key volunteers. She was instrumental in recruiting new trustees to the College.

Susan’s first role in philanthropy began at Drew University when she assumed the role of Events Coordinator and then advanced to Associate Director, Leadership Gifts.

She holds a B.A. from the University of Connecticut and a Master of Letters from Drew University where her thesis was “Corporate Philanthropy.”

Susan currently serves or has served on the boards of The Hawthorne Foundation, Inner-City Scholarship Fund, Invest in Education Foundation, and Regis High School.

Darla M. Romfo

Invest in Education Foundation
President and COO, Children’s Scholarship Fund

Darla Romfo serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Children’s Scholarship Fund, a nonprofit dedicated to providing partial scholarships for low-income children in grades K-8 to go to private school. CSF’s motto is to give parents a choice and children a chance. In bringing that motto to life, CSF has provided scholarships worth approximately $1 billion to more than 209,700 children since its inception in 1998 and currently serves more than 33,900 children nationwide. Ms. Romfo has served in this capacity since the organization offered its first scholarships in 1999.

Ms. Romfo is a frequent speaker on education and parental choice, appearing often on Fox News and other media outlets, advocating for all parents to have the right to choose the best educational pathways for their children. She is on the boards of the Drexel Fund, Brilla College Prep Charter Schools, the Invest in Education Coalition, The Cloisters on the Platte, and Silvercrest Asset Management Group.

Ms. Romfo grew up on a farm in North Dakota and graduated from the University of North Dakota with degrees in political science and accounting. She is a CPA and received a law degree from George Washington University.

Thomas E. McInerney

Secretary, Invest in Education Coalition
Chief Executive Officer, Bluff Point Associates

Thomas E. McInerney is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder at Bluff Point Associates, a private equity investment company focusing on small and mid-size companies in the fintech and healthcare information processing sectors.

Previously, Mr. McInerney was a General Partner at Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (WCAS), one of the larger private equity investment firms in the U.S. Mr. McInerney specialized in WCAS activities in the information services and telecommunications industries. As his first responsibility at Welsh Carson, Mr. McInerney served as President and CEO of Momentum Technologies, Inc., a New Jersey-based privately-owned provider of computer systems and services. The company later went public as DecisionOne Corporation and became the largest independent computer maintenance company in the U.S. before it was sold. During his 23 years at the firm, Mr. McInerney led the acquisition of dozens of companies, took many of them public and served as CEO of several of them.

Before joining WCAS, Mr. McInerney served as the President and Chief Executive Officer at Dama Telecommunications Corporation, which he co-founded in 1982. He has also served as President of Automatic Data Processing’s (ADP) Brokerage Services Division and then as Group Vice President – Financial Industry Services, ADP’s second largest business unit. Mr. McInerney also served as the Senior Vice President, Operations and Technology at the American Stock Exchange where he was responsible for all trading floor, clearing corporation and technology operations.

Mr. McInerney received a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. John’s University in 1964 and attended NYU Graduate School of Business from 1965-1968.

He currently serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Bread and Life Program, as a board member of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research in NYC and as Chair of the Foundations in Education Board for the Diocese of Bridgeport, CT. He is a former member of the Investment Committee for the Eastern Province of the Congregation of the Mission and a past member of the board of the Institute for Catholic Schools.

Robert H. Niehaus

Treasurer, Invest in Education Coalition

Robert H. Niehaus is the Chairman and Founder of GCP Capital Partners LLC, an independent, privately held investment management firm which currently manages four U.S. private equity funds totaling $1.8 billion in committed capital. GCP has had a successful track record investing $1.6 billion in approximately 68 portfolio companies. Mr. Niehaus formed GCP Capital Partners in 2009 as the successor to Greenhill Capital Partners, the merchant banking business of Greenhill & Co., Inc. (NYSE: GHL). Mr. Niehaus joined Greenhill & Co. in 2000 to begin the formation of Greenhill Capital Partners and served as its Chairman and Chair of its Investment Committee from 2000 to 2009.

Prior to joining Greenhill in 2000, Mr. Niehaus spent 17 years at Morgan Stanley & Co., where he was a Managing Director in the merchant banking department from 1990 to 1999. Mr. Niehaus was Vice Chairman and a Director of the Morgan Stanley Leveraged Equity Fund II, L.P., a $2.2 billion private equity investment fund, from 1992 to 1999 and was Vice Chairman and a Director of Morgan Stanley Capital Partners III, L.P., a $1.8 billion private equity investment fund, from1994 to 1999. Mr. Niehaus was also Chief Operating Officer of Morgan Stanley’s merchant banking department from 1996 to 1998.

Mr. Niehaus is Chairman of Iridium Communications, Inc. (NASD: IRDM), and is a director of several private GCP portfolio companies. Mr. Niehaus is a Trustee of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and chairs its Investment Committee which oversees a $5.4 billion endowment. Mr. Niehaus also chairs the New York Catholic Foundation and is a Board Member of the Asia Society, the Jesuit Refugee Services USA, Mother Cabrini Health Foundation, Student Sponsor Partners, and Success Academy Charter Schools. Mr. Niehaus is a graduate of Princeton University (1977) and the Harvard Business School (1982), from which he graduated with high distinction as a Baker Scholar.

Anthony J. de Nicola

Chairman of the Board, Invest in Education Coalition
Chairman, Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe

Anthony J. de Nicola is Chairman of Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, a New York private investment firm, which manages over $31 billion in its various funds. Mr. de Nicola joined WCAS in 1994, he has served on the firm’s Management Committee since 2000, he was appointed President in 2007 and Chairman in 2021. Mr. de Nicola has led the firm’s investment activities in the technology industry and has been involved with some of the firm’s most successful and profitable investments. He serves on the board of directors for a number of the firm’s private and public companies. Prior to joining WCAS, Mr. de Nicola worked in the private equity group at William Blair & Company and the merger department at Goldman Sachs & Co.

Mr. de Nicola earned his BA degree from DePauw University, where he graduated summa cum laude with an economics major and a minor in computational mathematics.
Mr. de Nicola also earned an MBA with distinction from the Harvard Business School.

Mr. de Nicola and his wife Christie have been married for over 35 years and are active members of the community including their extensive philanthropic work, with a focus on education, poverty relief, healthcare and supporting the Catholic church. Mr. de Nicola serves on several non-profit boards including The Hospital for Special Surgery, The Partnership for New York City, Invest in Education Coalition, The Inner-City Scholarship Fund and The Catholic Foundation for the Archdiocese of New York. He is also a member of the Finance Committee and the Pension Investment Committee for the Archdiocese. He is a founding board member of Brilla College Prep, a public charter school in the Bronx. Previously, he served on the Board of Trustees and the Investment Committee of DePauw University.

Tony and his wife, Christie, are the proud parents of three children and four grandchildren.