Watchdog: Most Mississippi private school tax-credit dollars not spent on classrooms
A report by the Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review found that most money private schools received under Mississippi’s Children’s Promise Act has been spent outside the classroom, the committee and Mississippi Today reported.
The Children’s Promise Act, championed by House Ways and Means Chairman Trey Lamar, has offered donors a dollar-for-dollar tax credit since 2020 for up to 50 percent of a donor’s state tax bill, according to state law and legislative records. Lawmakers increased the total amount of tax credits available by $6 million this year, allowing Mississippians to claim up to $24 million in credits starting in 2027, up from $18 million, Mississippi Today reported.
PEER staff interviewed 15 private schools in 2024 and found that only three — Brookhaven Academy, Laurel Christian School and Madison-Ridgeland Academy — self-reported spending program funds directly on educational services, such as purchasing electronic blackboards, providing tutoring and funding professional development, the report said. An analysis requested by Rep. Daryl Porter and shared with Mississippi Today concluded that direct support for educational services “tended to be the exception rather than the norm,” the paper reported.
The report said six schools used funds for capital projects, including shaded playground areas and building renovations. PEER identified two schools that used money for projects that may not meet statutory requirements, saying North Delta School used the funds to create a scholarship endowment and install stadium lights and that Brookhaven Academy used funds to construct a parking lot. The report noted the Department of Revenue’s website states that providing scholarships does not qualify as an educational service and that funding parking lots and athletic-field lights does not appear to support educational purposes.
Brookhaven Academy did not respond to requests for comment, the report said. Ashley Johnson, director of institutional advancement at North Delta School, told Mississippi Today the school did not use Children’s Promise Act funds for the lights and said the lights were paid for with a separate grant. “All of the funds that we’ve gotten we have used in accordance with the law,” she said. PEER Executive Director Ted Booth told Mississippi Today his staff spoke directly to a school employee who provided the information about the lights and scholarship program. “The worry if you do it that way is if they sent us to the right person,” Booth said. “But I can back this up that someone at your school told me this.”
An agency spokesperson told Mississippi Today in an email that state law does not require the Department of Revenue to track how private schools spend the money and that the department would not release information on the number of eligible students at schools without a judicial order or consent from the schools, the paper reported.
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