Macon schools weigh possible changes with voucher program in high demand

As Georgia rolls out its new Promise Scholarship program, private and public schools in Middle Georgia are anticipating how it could potentially affect enrollment next fall.

The Georgia Student Finance Commission said it received over 11,800 applications for the voucher program during the initial application window from March 1 to April 15. Of those, 732 students in Bibb County applied for the voucher as of April 22.

“Over 7,200 Georgia students are preliminary eligible,” GSFC Director of External Affairs Hayley Corbitt said in an email. “These preliminary numbers are based on information provided by the applicant. Applications are still under review, and preliminary numbers may be subject to change during the data verification process.”

Lawmakers budgeted $141 million, the maximum amount legally allowed by law, for the school choice program in the upcoming fiscal year to support about 22,000 students.

Middle Georgia families have shared with The Telegraph that they are receiving application approvals from the state.

The next application period for the program will be open from June 1 to 30. State officials anticipate another surge of applications.

The initial funding of approved student accounts will be on or after July 1, according to the Georgia Promise website.

Public schools brace for impact

The up-to-$6,500 annual scholarship will cover private school tuition or other educational expenses for eligible students enrolled in schools that are among the 25% of the lowest-performing in the state.

The offer could further lower student enrollment in Bibb County Schools, where elementary schools fail to meet headcount standards set by the state and over 60% of the district’s schools were identified with low academic achievement.

District officials are working to adopt a budget for fiscal year 2026, in which the recommended proposal so far has a multi-million-dollar projected deficit.

At the BCSD board of education’s second budget work session, Chief Financial Officer Eric Bush said they project 181 new students will enter the district.

School board member Daryl Morton pointed out the hundreds of students who applied for vouchers and the uncertainty about how many will actually receive them, potentially affecting revenue projections.

“If you have fewer students, you might need less teachers or less staff,” Morton told The Telegraph. “If you have less students, that impacts your revenue projections because you don’t receive the state dollars for those students who are no longer there.”

Morton said many questions remain unanswered at this time, as the district won’t know official enrollment figures until August.

During this time, Morton emphasized the district’s role in assuring families of the benefits of public schools for their children.

“You try to assure families that whatever your child needs in a public school setting, they’ll get, whether it’s the academic support, individual support, individualized learning — just being in a safe and supportive atmosphere,” he said.

Private, microschools welcome more interest

More than a dozen private schools in Middle Georgia signed up for the state program, including Achieve Academy in Warner Robins and Tattnall Square Academy in Macon.

Tara Pvel, head of Achieve Academy, said the microschool is experiencing a historic surge of interested families, with several residing in Bibb County. Microschools are smaller educational environments than more traditional schools.

As of May 22, Pvel said the school has received about 55 applicants — of those, 25 were through the Promise Scholarship. The school’s student enrollment cap is 65.

“Usually, we just wouldn’t be anywhere near that number around this time. Maybe we’d have 10 applicants,” Pvel said. “Normally, it’s the start of summer when parents begin to look around, but I expect for us to be full by July. I have been giving tours every other day for the past three months.”

Pvel said she’s preparing for the likely increase in students by hiring more teachers and revising school policies to help families understand how the microschool differs from traditional private and public schools.

Travis Absher, head of Tattnall Square Academy, said the school is open to growth but has no plans to change its admissions requirements or class sizes in direct response to the voucher program. He said the school has received a steady number of applications, both overall and through the Promise Scholarship portal.

“There’s a lot of really good schools in the Middle Georgia area, and we just want to be one of them,” Absher said. “I’m excited for the program, and I hope it does a lot of good things.”

Absher added that the school is focused on providing families with one-on-one guidance throughout the scholarship process because “it is really important to us that they want to be here and meet the mission of the school.”

This story was originally published May 23, 2025 at 10:28 AM.