State awards teacher tax credits

ATLANTA — The Georgia Department of Education has awarded the first teacher recruitment tax credits to 69 teachers from across the state.

The General Assembly voted unanimously last year to create the tax credit to incentivize teachers to ply their profession in rural and low-performing schools.

Each teacher selected for the program will receive a $3,000 credit on their state income taxes each year for five consecutive school years.

“The most important thing we can do to improve student achievement is to invest in our educators,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said this week. “This tax credit provides an additional way for Georgia to recruit and retain excellent teachers in our public school classrooms.”

Eligible teachers were those recently hired to teach in a high-need subject area at one of 100 participating schools. High-need subject areas are defined regionally by Georgia’s Regional Education Service Agencies.

Applications for the tax credit were released in February. An additional round of applications will take place next spring.