Georgia’s updated Promise Scholarship list still contains nearly every Richmond County public school, but one system trustee is pushing back.
With enrollment set to begin March 1, the list contains 42 Richmond County schools — all of them, except the system’s magnet schools and Freedom Park Elementary — considered among the state’s bottom-performing 25%.
Attending a school in one of the list’s attendance zones means a student is eligible for a voucher of up to $6,500 for private school tuition, homeschooling and other qualified educational costs.
The Associated Press reported the state’s list makes some 400,000 students eligible for the scholarships, including all students in Richmond County, while its state allocation was limited to 1% of funding for public schools, or about 22,000 vouchers.
Columbia County has only a single school on the list, Harlem Middle School. The list contains no schools in Burke or Lincoln counties, but includes five in Jefferson County.
The state unveiled the program and a list of eligible schools last year, only to withdraw the list. It rereleased the list this week with only minor changes.
Richmond school board member and family advocate Monique Braswell streamed a message Wednesday on Facebook urging parents to think wisely.
Braswell said while the program encompasses nearly every school, another state list counts only seven in Richmond County as officially failing.
The scholarship funds, per pupil, will be how much the system loses in funding, she said. But the scholarships may not go as far at area private schools, she said.
“I just need to know what private school y’all will go to for $6,500,” Braswell said.
Area private schools don’t come cheap, although many have existing scholarship programs for needy students. Several appear on a list of schools open to Georgia Promise scholarships.
At the lower end, Thomas Jefferson Academy in Louisville costs $6,500 this year for grades 1-12. Augusta Christian Schools runs $10,869 for a year of sixth grade, excluding fees.
The Georgia Promise Scholarship website includes a pre-screening tool for parents to check their children’ eligibility.
Georgia Promise Scholarship Public School List by Susan McCord on Scribd
