Q: If you donate to private schools, the state will give you your money back. Under this program, I saw a printed list of schools receiving monies. However, missing from this list were: Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and Baptist schools. Are these schools part of the program?
—Shelly Powell, Lawrenceville
A: Baptist, Catholic and Jewish schools are among the hundreds of private schools included in the program. The Georgia private school tax credit law allows a person or company to get a tax credit for the money donated to a specific Georgia Student Scholarship Organizations, or SSO, which are charitable organizations in the state. Each of the more than 30 SSOs have a list of schools with which they are affiliated (some may have a few, others have dozens). The Georgia Department of Education's website, www.doe.k12.ga.us, provides a list of all SSOs (scroll down and on the left side of the page, under Special Programs, click on Tax Credit Program).
Q: Is the oil spill in the Yellowstone River flowing into Yellowstone National Park, and if so, what kind of damage has it done?
—Diane Baggett, Winston
A: Yellowstone National Park is about 110 miles upstream from the spill. Officials told The Associated Press the spill is not threatening the park's river portion.
Lori Johnston wrote this column; James Salzer contributed. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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