Monthly Archives: December 2016

Tax Credits For Private Schools

Challenge to tax credit scholarships is coming to the Georgia State Supreme Court

According to Ty Tagami in the AJC, early next year, the Georgia Supreme Court will hear arguments in Gaddy v. Georgia, the lawsuit over the state’s K-12 tax credit scholarship program.
The Fulton County Superior Court dismissed the lawsuit brought by Raymond Gaddy, a taxpayer who argued the $58 million program was unconstitutional. He then appealed. The state constitution prohibits the use of tax dollars to fund “any church, sect, cult, or religious denomination.” He argues that the scholarship program is unconstitutional because it gives money to private schools with religious affiliations.
Georgia limits the tax credits to $58 million a year, and in recent years, the $58 million in donations to the program has been taken on the first day of availability. Proponents cite that as evidence of the program’s popularity.
Tax Credits For Private Schools
Since 2008 Georgia has allowed married taxpayers filing jointly to take up to $2,500 of their state taxes and redirect them to be used as scholarships for private schools. Single filers can redirect up to $1,000, and anyone in the state can participate – not just parents with kids in school.
This amazing program, known as the Qualified Education Expense (QEE) Tax Credit, will actually give you a state tax credit -not just a deduction – for money that you designate for the school of your choice. This credit extends even to religious schools, and since you donate the funds through a non-profit corporation (called a Student Scholarship Organization, or SSO) you can also take the donation as a deduction on your federal tax return. Because it is a state tax credit, you get all the money you donate back next year when you file your taxes.
In 2015 the State allocated $58,000,000 in tax revenue that was redirected into the hands of students at Georgia’s private schools.
Education Reform Commission (ERC)
In January 2015, Governor Nathan Deal created an Education Reform Commission (ERC) with 30+ members consisting of teachers, superintendents, principals, state legislators, and heads of various education related firms.  Governor Deal charged this commission with reshaping and revolutionizing Georgia’s education system.
On December 15, the ERC presented its .pdf link icon Final Recommendations to Governor Nathan Deal.  The Commission’s number one priority was to “True up pledges to actual contributions annually for the state’s existing tuition tax credit scholarship program.”
The commission believes that requiring the Department of Revenue to switch from counting pledges to counting actual contributions against the tax credit cap, adjusting the tax credits as actual numbers come in, and informing Student Scholarship Organizations when additional space becomes available will ensure the full allotment of tax credits are utilized. By doing so, Georgia can provide tuition assistance to the number of families originally intended by the tax credit program, rather than losing the funds each year to unfulfilled donations.

DeKalb 2016 CCRPI Trends

GaDOE

Last week 2015-16 College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI) scores were released. DeKalb’s elementary scores on average dropped precipitously and reflect a decline seen across the state.
The CCRPI is Georgia’s statewide accountability system, implemented in 2012 to replace the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) measurement, after the U.S. Department of Education granted Georgia’s waiver from NCLB.
CCRPI Scores – Metro Atlanta Schools

Metro Atlanta School Districts 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 ’16 – ’17 Delta
DeKalb County 65.1 62.4 62.8 67.7 66.6 69.9 3.3
Atlanta Public Schools 59.8 65.3 62.6 67 65.2 68.3 3.1
Fulton County 73.9 77.5 73.4 74.7 74.7 78 3.3
Cobb County 81.6 80.7 77.3 79.7 80.5 82.9 2.4
Gwinnett County 83.1 82.8 82.1 80.5 83 82.4 -0.6

Region 1 & 2 Elementary School CCRPI Scores

Elementary Schools Region I – CCRPI Scores
Region Cluster Title I School 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
1 No Cluster N KITTREDGE MAGNET (ES) 97.3 96.1 91.6 106.4 106.4
1 Dunwoody N AUSTIN ES 95.1 96.5 95.5 98.9 97.1
1 Dunwoody N VANDERLYN ES 94.2 95.2 93.6 91.2 93.4
1 Dunwoody N DUNWOODY ES 85.4 93.7 85.6 93.6 91.6
1 Chamblee N ASHFORD PARK ES 77.9 87.6 79.9 78.5 87.5
1 Chamblee N MONTGOMERY ES 88.6 89 87 84.4 87.3
1 Charter Y DEKALB PATH (ES) 83 83.2 81.1 81.8 80.9
1 Dunwoody Y KINGSLEY CHARTER ES 68.7 68.9 63.9 65.4 75.6
1 Chamblee Y HUNTLEY HILLS ES 77.4 79.9 77.3 79 72
1 No Cluster Y OAKCLIFF ES 71.4 70.8 67.1 71.3 70.2
1 Dunwoody Y HIGHTOWER ES 68.1 58.9 63.5 65.9 66.9
1 Cross Keys Y CARY REYNOLDS ES 69 63.8 56.1 66.9 66.5
1 Dunwoody N CHESNUT CHARTER ES 70.2 84.1 80.1 77.8 61
1 Cross Keys Y WOODWARD ES 64.2 48 54.6 56.3 60.3
1 Cross Keys Y MONTCLAIR ES 64.8 50.7 44.7 55 52
1 Cross Keys Y DRESDEN ES 53.4 69 58.8 54.9 48.8
Elementary Schools Region II – CCRPI Scores
Region Cluster Title I School 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
2 Lakeside N OAK GROVE ES 83.4 87 86.4 83.3 89.5
2 Druid Hills Y LAUREL RIDGE ES 81.8 72.1 84.2 87.6 89
2 Charter N MUSEUM SCHOOL 93.9 89.2 92.1 89.9 88.4
2 Charter N GLOBE N/A N/A 76.4 88.9 84.1
2 Tucker Y BROCKETT ES 82.4 81.7 72.7 79.3 80.2
2 Druid Hills Y FERNBANK ES 88.9 91.1 95.6 90.9 80.1
2 No Cluster Y DEKALB ES OF ARTS (ES) 76 78.9 74.3 88.5 79.8
2 No Cluster Y ROBERT SHAW ES 86.6 88 84.6 80.7 78.7
2 Lakeside Y HENDERSON MILL ES 78.5 74.1 76.7 76.7 78.6
2 Lakeside N BRIARLAKE ES 77.9 82.3 78.9 80 78.5
2 Lakeside N SAGAMORE HILLS ES 77.7 85.5 79.4 79.7 77.3
2 Tucker Y LIVSEY ES 77.7 72.7 84.4 78 75.8
2 Druid Hills Y BRIAR VISTA ES 76.4 59.3 81.8 61.3 74.8
2 Druid Hills Y MCLENDON ES 59.5 61.3 63.1 78.3 73.8
2 Lakeside Y EVANSDALE ES 77.6 73.8 66.8 80 72
2 Lakeside Y HAWTHORNE ES 75.5 83 75.6 73.5 69.2
2 Tucker Y MIDVALE ES 79 74.4 71.4 78.9 63.3
2 Charter Y INT COMMUNITY (ES) 66.3 63.5 63.5 63.6 62.9
2 Tucker Y IDLEWOOD ES 54 55.9 61.8 77.1 61.4
2 Lakeside Y PLEASANTDALE ES 68.8 57.4 79.7 68.2 61.3
2 Tucker Y SMOKE RISE ES 72.7 59.6 58.2 61.8 59.3
2 Druid Hills Y AVONDALE ES 52.8 64 65.4 58.5 56.1
2 No Cluster N CORALWOOD 91.3 89 88.8 71.2 N/A

All DeKalb Middle School CCRPI Scores

DeKalb Middle Schools CCRPI Scores
1 No Cluster N KITTREDGE MAGNET (MS) 93.9 94.2 92.1 95.8 103.6
Region Cluster Title I School 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
2 No Cluster Y DEKALB ES OF ARTS (MS) 81.5 83.9 78 79.6 92.8
5 No Cluster Y WADSWORTH MAGNET (MS) 97.9 96.8 98.1 106 92.7
2 Charter N Museum School MS N/A 94.7 93.2 89.4
2 No Cluster N DEKALB SCHOOL OF THE ARTS (MS) 90.6 90.6 95.9 90.3 88.6
4 Charter Y Leadership Preparatory Academy 72.6 71.4 70.2 80.7 86.1
1 Chamblee N CHAMBLEE MS 82.7 87.9 81.4 79.4 85.1
1 Charter Y DEKALB PATH (MS) 85.4 90.9 90.1 81.7 83
1 Dunwoody N Peachtree Middle School 81 72.8 80 79.5 78.8
2 Lakeside Y HENDERSON MS 80 73.1 73.3 78.8 74.8
2 Druid Hills Y DRUID HILLS MS 61.7 66 76.5 76.2 73.8
2 Tucker Y TUCKER MS 73.1 64.4 66.9 68 71.2
3 No Cluster Y THE CHAMPION MS 87.4 78.7 79.5 72.4 70.1
4 SW DeKalb Y CHAPEL HILL MS 61.9 65.7 65.1 60.1 65.2
3 Charter N DEKALB ACADEMY TECH. & ENVIR. (MS) 77.1 72.6 75.6 71 64.1
1 Cross Keys Y SEQUOYAH MS 80.3 63.3 56.8 65.4 64
3 Redan Y REDAN MS 60.8 60.2 63.7 64.7 63.9
3 Stephenson Y STEPHENSON MS 69.5 60.2 76.2 66.4 63.8
3 Clarkston Y FREEDOM MS 56.2 59.3 52.4 56.5 61.4
3 Stone Mountain Y STONE MOUNTAIN MS 61.1 62.6 62.3 54.7 60
5 Columbia Y COLUMBIA MS 58.2 47.5 62.7 60.2 59.9
4 Charter Y DeKalb Preparatory Academy Charter 71.4 58.8
4 Miller Grove Y MILLER GROVE MS 65 59.6 60 68.8 55.6
4 MLK Y SALEM MS 56.4 49.8 58.2 60.8 55.3
5 Towers Y MARY M. BETHUNE MS 51.1 61.4 54.3 55.2 54.9
1 Charter N Tapestry 62.7 53.2
5 McNair Y MCNAIR MS 60.7 39.3 46.4 53.1 52
5 Cedar Grove Y CEDAR GROVE MS 58.2 47.6 55 55.2 51.7
4 Lithonia Y LITHONIA MS 69.7 63.2 60.8 65.6 47.1
1 No Cluster Y INTERNATIONAL STUDENT CENTER 23.1 21.1 31.6 33.2 27

All Dekalb High Schools

DeKalb High Schools CCRPI Scores
Region Cluster Title I School 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
3 No Cluster Y DEKALB EARLY COLLEGE 92.1 99.3 97.3 102.5 106.5
2 No Cluster N DEKALB SCHOOL OF THE ARTS (HS) 89.4 95 95.1 102.1 103.1
1 Dunwoody N DUNWOODY HS 80.9 79.1 73.6 86.1 93.4
4 No Cluster Y ARABIA MOUNTAIN HS 78.6 87.2 83.1 95.5 93.2
1 Chamblee Y CHAMBLEE HS 80.3 78.6 79.8 87.5 87.5
1 Cross Keys Y CROSS KEYS HS 63.6 72.8 67.4 74.4 81.9
2 Druid Hills Y DRUID HILLS HS 69.1 68.3 64.5 77 80.6
2 Lakeside Y LAKESIDE HS 71.2 65.5 72.4 77.6 80.3
2 Tucker Y TUCKER HS 62.5 66.9 62.1 74.6 78.4
5 Cedar Grove Y CEDAR GROVE HS 63.8 65.6 62.8 72.6 78.4
3 Stephenson Y STEPHENSON HS 74.1 62.4 64.5 68.3 78.2
4 SWDeKalb Y SOUTHWEST DEKALB HS 65.5 62.9 63.4 69.7 76.9
3 Redan Y REDAN HS 61 55.9 60.5 64.1 72
4 Miller Grove Y MILLER GROVE HS 67.3 61.7 60.4 68.8 71.8
3 Clarkston Y CLARKSTON HS 54.3 64.1 54.6 72.1 70.9
3 Stone Mountain Y STONE MOUNTAIN HS 71.1 56.8 51.2 58.7 69.4
5 Columbia Y COLUMBIA HS 52.9 58 57 67.8 64.7
4 MLK Y M. L. KING HS 56.9 59.9 61 66 62.9
4 Lithonia Y LITHONIA HS 63 52 59.1 60.9 61.9
5 McNair Y MCNAIR HS 64.6 44.2 44.9 64.4 58.2
5 Towers Y TOWERS HS 57.4 47.7 57 61.3 57.2
5 No Cluster Y ELIZABETH ANDREWS HS 48 44.7 41.8 54.3 56.5
4 Charter Y DESTINY ACHIEVERS 36.6 49.5 38.2 52.7 48.4
5 No Cluster Y DEKALB ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL (HS) 38.4 22.2 33.9 34 42.4