Newspaper Page Text
State helps pay bill for children with disabilities *
Funds may provide for a private school education
By Debbie Gilbert
FCN regional staff
If you have a child with a
disability, the state of Georgia
may give you financial assis¬
tance if you prefer to have him
or her educated at a private
school.
But in order to qualify for
the special needs scholarship,
parents need to sign up by Sept.
5.
“It gives parents more choic¬
es,” said Ava White, who runs
the Ava White Academy, a small
school in Gainesville. “But
many people don’t know that
(the program) exists.”
White’s school, which spe¬
cializes in helping students with
learning disabilities, is among
145 Georgia schools participat¬
ing in the program.
The scholarships were made
possible by a 2007 state law that
allows parents to take the money
a public school would have
spent teaching their child and
apply that money to private
school tuition.
There’s no additional cost to
the state, because it’s simply a
‘NOTICE OF PROPERTY TAX INCREASE’
The Forsyth County Board of Commissioners
has tentatively adopted a millage rate that will
require an increase in the Maintenance
and Operation property taxes by 1.70%,
Fire property taxes by 1.67% and
Bond property taxes by 173.68%.
All concerned citizens are invited to the Public
Hearings on this tax increase to be held at the
Forsyth County Administration Building,
110 East Main Street, Suite 220, Cumming,
Georgia, on August 21,2008 at 11:00 a.m.
and 6:30 p.m.
William J. Thomas
Chief Financial Officer
A
o. A’
Team o
North Georgia College & State University
The Mike Cottrell School of Business
%
And
The City of Cumming
Invite you to the
GRAND OPENING
Mike Cottrell School of Business
Graduate Center
Sunday, August 24th
2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Cumming City Hall
100 Main Street
Cumming, GA 30040 s
> * Public, Invited to Attend
V v .
transfer of funds. On average,
the scholarship is worth about
$6,000, but in some cases it’s
much higher.
“The amount varies because
students need different levels of
services,” said Dana Tofig,
spokesman for the Georgia
Department of Education. “A
student with a severe disability
is going to cost more than one
who has a mild disability.
Tofig said in 2007, 186,406
Georgia students in kindergarten
through 12th grade had some
type of disability. That’s about
12 percent of the state’s total
student population.
In the 2007-08 school year,
the first year the scholarship was
available, 899 students took
advantage of it, and the state
doled out about $5.6 million.
It is not a voucher program.
The parent chooses a school
from the list, and the state writes
a check to the school.
But Tofig said parents should
understand what they’re getting
into.
The only criterion for a
school to participate in the
program is to be generally
accredited,
“The state does not require
that schools have any expertise
in teaching children with dis
abilities,” said Tofig. “It’s up to
the parent to do the research,
That’s very important.”
Some of the participating
schools, such as White’s, are tai
lored specifically toward dis
abled children. But many small,
private schools don’t have the
resources that a public school
system has.
Tofig said by signing up for
the scholarship, parents waive
their right to appeal if the private
school fails to deliver the servic
es it promised,
NOTICE
The Forsyth County Board of Commissioners does hereby announce that the millage rate will be set at a meeting to be held
at the Commissioners Meeting Room, Suite 220, Forsyth County Administration Bldg., 110 E Main St., Cumming, Ga., 30040
on August 21,2008 at 6:30PM and pursuant to the requirements of O.C.G. A. Section 48-5-32 does hereby publish the following
presentation of the current year's tax digest and levy, along with the history of the tax digest and levy for the past five years.
• CURRENT 2008 TAX DIGEST AND 5 YEAR HISTORY OF LEVY
COUNTY WIDE 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Real & Personal 5,498,507,587 5,968,346,677 6,866,164,249 7,950.913.79S 8,924,906,562 9,699,132,218
Motor Vehicles 451,456,270 463,753,610 455,836,520 460,976,800 524,449.64C 565,960,660
Mobile Homes 16,050,880 16,501,360 16,416,120 16,298,542 15,804,948 14,103,351
Timber -100% 417,757 48,890 112,428 4,500 27,818 28,891
Heavy Duty Equipment 412,195 801,747 1,528,164 1,670,386 760,073
Gross Digest 5,966,432,494 6,449,062,732 7,339,331,064 8,429,721,805 9,466,859,354 10,279,985,193
Less M& O Exemptions 813,050,061 834,231,470 943,868,573 1,124,681.99C 1,230,277,40€ 1,389,586,132
Net M & O Digest 5,153,382,433 5,614,831,262 6,395,465,491 7,305,039,815 8,236,581.948 8,890,399,061
Gross M&O Millage 7.561 7.282 7.117 6.934 7.108 6.912
Less Rollbacks 3.261 3.098 3.117 3.100 3.274 3.078
Net M&O Millage 4.300 4.184 4.000 3.834 3.834 3.834
Total County Taxes Levied $22,159,544 $23,492,454 $25,581,862 $28,007,523 $31,579,055 $34,085,790
Net Taxes $ Increase $7,498,210 $1,332,910 $2,089,408 $2,425,661 $3,571,533 $2,506,735
Net Taxes % Increase 51.14% 6 . 02 % 8.89% 9.48% 12.75% 7.94%
On the Net
For more information about
the Georgia Special Needs
Scholarship, like how to
apply for the program, visit
public.doe.k12.ga.us/sb10.
aspx
“They have no recourse,” he
said.
Parents have to pay for the
portion of tuition not covered by
the scholarship,
Also, not every disabled stu¬
dent is eligible for the scholar¬
ship. To qualify, the child must
have been enrolled in a Georgia
public school for the entire pre
vious year, and the parents must
have been Georgia residents for
at least a year.
FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS — Wednesday, August 20,2008
=
INFORMATIONAL SESSION
The Forsyth County Board of
Commissioners and Forsyth County
Sheriff’s Office will hold an informational
session on Tuesday, August 26 for the
purpose of providing information relative to
the proposed new detention center.
The proposed detention center will appear
on the November 4 ballot.
The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. in the
Sheriff’s Office Conference Room in the
Government Building located at
101E. Main Street in Cumming.
All interested parties are
encouraged to attend.
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