Beverley Levine
Editor’s note: This is a version of Oglethorpe County Superintendent Beverley Levine’s letter to families last week. It has been edited for length and journalistic style.
The Oglethorpe County School System has been approved to take part in the Peach Education Tax Credit, which allows individuals, businesses and corporations to designate a portion of their state income tax bill to be utilized in Oglethorpe County.
If you pay state taxes — your money goes to Atlanta for disbursement.
You now have the choice to give the money to the Oglethorpe County School System, at no additional cost. In many circumstances, this will also count as a deduction for a donation on your federal taxes.
The Peach Education Tax Credit allows taxpayers to donate and support innovative programs that foster educational excellence for students.
Donors receive a dollar-for-dollar tax credit on their state income tax. Individuals and businesses can now allow state income tax dollars to remain local and benefit the school system.
So how do you do this?
Step 1
Apply: Apply for the PEACH Education Tax Credit by visiting Oglethorpe.k12.ga.us.
- Click “Donate” in the top right section of the website.
- Click the “Peach Education Tax Credit” button.
- On the flyer, click the link under Step 1.
- Select “First Time Donors.”
- Follow all the directions on the form.
When you come to the question, “For school fundraiser or specific fund, please designate,” select Oglethorpe County Schools.
Step 2
Donate: Follow the directions in the email or letter you receive, after you have applied.
Step 3
Claim: Claim the PEACH Education Tax Credit on your Georgia income tax return for the dollar-to-dollar credit.
The following amounts can be donated, depending on your filing status:
- Single filer: up to $2,500
- Married filing singly/jointly: up to $2,500/$5,000
Owner of a pass-through entity/LLC partner: up to $25,000
This opportunity must be filed by Dec. 31. There is a $15,000,000 statewide cap each year, so please get your application in, before the cap is reached.
A huge thank you to all those who have already contributed. We have had five people participate and have received $6,500, with another $5,100 committed.
Because the taxes have to be paid in advance, not all filers will be able to contribute the entire amount. If every taxpayer in our community who pays state taxes contributed just $50, this would have a huge impact on the school system.
Please remember, this is not an additional amount— this is just having a portion of your state taxes (that you already have to pay) going directly to the school system, instead of Atlanta.
In order to be accepted into the program, Oglethorpe County Schools had to apply and select three goal areas that funding would go toward. The first three projects that we will be funding include:
- School safety
- Student and parent mental health
- Student leadership development
If all of this sounds too good to be true, I encourage you to visit our district website and watch the short video done by District 4 board member Jake Willcox.
Please feel free to reach out to him at jwillcox@oglethorpe.k12.ga.us or to Beverley Levine at 706-743-8128 or blevine@oglethorpe.k12.ga.us.