Why I left some school districts off my tax credits list

by David Safier

Please give a public school tax credit donation! It costs you nothing, and it gives some much needed dollars to our fund-starved public schools.

In my post below, I give details about contributing to Tucson and Sunnyside District schools.

Here's why I left out other local school districts.

The following districts' forms allow you to specify the student who the funds go to.

• Amphitheater School District
• Flowing Wells School District
• Marana School District.

In other words, the money can go straight to your own child's band trip (or other exracurricular activity), or you can earmark it for your nephew, niece, grandchild, friend's child, etc.

I checked and found the law allows people to earmark the money for specific students, but for me, giving tax free dollars to help a specific child at a public school and ignoring the rest flies in the face of the spirit of public education. Nothing but a lump of coal from me for those three districts for that reason.

Catalina Foothills District doesn't allow people to earmark donations on its form, to its credit. I simply left the district off the list because it has incredibly affluent parents. A school can raise $10,000 by holding an auction faster than most TUSD schools can raise $125 at a bake sale. I can't see giving more money to affluent kids while others need it far more.