Too Much of a Good Thing?

The donation cap cuts short soaring contributions to Georgia's student scholarship program

Randy Hicks, President of Georgia Family Council
November 17, 2011

Jordan Price’s life has changed for the better and for the long-term. According to his mom, Georgia’s Tuition Tax Credit Scholarship program, enacted by state lawmakers in 2008, is the reason why.

Last week, the exciting, yet bittersweet, news was announced that contributions to the scholarship program that has helped Jordan and thousands of other K-12 students across the state have reached an all-time high.

The news is sweet because it means more kids will be able to attend a quality school than ever before. The news is bitter because the $50 million cap on contributions has been reached. Hitting the cap means a lot of money will be left on the table so many kids won’t benefit from scholarships.

The Georgia Tuition Tax Credit Scholarship program gives a dollar-for-dollar tax credit to individuals and corporations who donate to student scholarship organizations (SSOs). These organizations then award scholarships to public school students to attend a private school that better meets their needs.

Individuals can receive a tax credit for donations up to $1,000, couples up to $2,500. Corporations can receive a tax credit up to 75 percent of their state income tax liability.

It’s a fantastic program that allows people to direct taxes they have to pay anyway to help schoolchildren. More importantly, it provides K-12 students who are struggling in school the opportunity to choose a better option.

In the four short years since the program was created, the word has spread and donations have soared. In 2008, $6.2 million was raised. That increased to $25.4 million in 2009 and $41 million in 2010.

This year, the $50 million cap has already been reached. Clearly, Georgia taxpayers like contributing to help kids get into better schools.

Sadly, many families in Georgia are locked into poor performing schools and don’t have access to a quality education. The scholarship program is a great benefit to families who want to send their child to a better school; particularly low-income families who don’t have any options at all.

Next year the cap will only increase based on the Consumer Price Index, which is estimated to be less than 4 percent. This built-in increase is helpful, but it’s clearly not enough to meet the demand for scholarships.

In my decades working in the public policy arena, I have rarely seen a government program that so clearly benefits so many people. My team here at Georgia Family Council was very proud to be part of getting the law passed.

We believe it’s imperative that all children in Georgia have access to a quality education. Education is the key to a successful future. It is also one of the necessary conditions for having a more stable family life. If someone has a good education, they are more likely to have a better and more stable career. This, in turn, means they (men in particular) are more likely to have a stable and happy marriage as an adult.

The program has already helped an estimated 7,000 students. That means thousands of kids are learning and thriving in a quality school today that they could not have attended otherwise.

Thanks to the scholarship program, moms like Elizabeth Price can send her children to a better school. It has changed their lives, especially her son Jordan.

“We struggled so hard with his reading,” she said. “He was trying so hard, but he just couldn’t catch on. There would be times we would both be in tears trying to help him read. Within one semester at Heritage, Jordan is reading. You have no idea what it feels like inside, to hear my baby read!”

 Stories like this one show just what the scholarship program is all about. All of us care about education in Georgia. We want kids to learn and thrive and have a brighter future. The Tax Credit Scholarship program is providing a way out for parents longing to find a better school for their child. Most importantly, it is providing a way for kids to learn well. And when it comes to education, that’s what matters most. 

 For more information about the Tax Credit Scholarship program, visit www.educatedgeorgia.org/taxcreditscholarships.htm.

Randy Hicks is the president of Georgia Family Council, a non-profit research and education organization committed to fostering conditions in which individuals, families and communities thrive. For more information, go to www.georgiafamily.org, (770) 242-0001, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .