Macon private schools lead in Promise Scholarship funding statewide

Private schools in Macon collected $435,900.30 from the Georgia Promise Scholarship program — with some of those schools earning the most in the state, according to numbers from the Georgia Education Savings Authority.

Authority data collected by Georgia Recorder and The Current shows the top recipients of Promise Scholarship money. The publicly funded scholarship offers $6,500 to Georgia families attending public schools who choose to move to a private school or pursue homeschooling. Scholarship recipients continue receiving funds until they complete high school or turn 20.

Only schools in the bottom 25% of state testing performers are eligible.

Every student in Bibb County is eligible for the scholarship. Five hundred and eighty-two students were approved during the scholarship’s first application cycle, which started in March and closed at the end of June.

The migration of students away from public schools means less funding for the Bibb County School District. Preliminary attendance numbers from the district show a drop of 400 students this fall.

The school district receives state funding based in part on how many students it enrolls. The district has seen declining enrollment over the past couple of years, which has led to discussions about closing schools. 

Central Fellowship Christian Academy, a south Bibb private school, received $83,571 — the most of any Macon school — from the scholarship fund. The school saw 120 new students enroll this academic year.

Josh Queen, the academy’s head of school, said Central Fellowship didn’t see a noticeable increase in applications for this school year. He said the scholarship was more of “a blessing that some people weren’t counting on.”

Bibb’s second-highest receiver of Promise Scholarship funds was Windsor Academy with $76,375. Coming in third in Bibb was First Presbyterian Day School, which received $69,875 from the Promise Scholarship.

First Presbyterian Admissions Director Kris Vaughn said that, while the promise scholarship doesn’t cover the full cost of tuition, it serves as another tool to get children enrolled.

Vaughn said her school saw applications coming in “strictly because” of the state scholarship. She said parents of pre-K students — who can also use the funds to pay for that level of education — were also encouraged to apply.

State legislators passed the Georgia Promise Scholarship during last year’s legislative session, creating a state school choice voucher program as states around the country do the same.