Please support tuition-free German in Tucson
Saphir, Erich
Dear Friends,
Please consider supporting TUITION FREE German language instruction and programming by making a tax credit donation to Desert Sky Community School. The two tax credits for private (International School of Tucson) and public (DSCS) schools operate completely independently of each other, so YOU CAN SUPPORT BOTH! Information on the tax credit is attached.
Desert Sky, which as a charter school is tuition free, offers German to all students twice a week starting in first grade. The German teacher, Nathan Fenoglio, is fully trained and certified as a German teacher. German cultural awareness also infuses some of the other curriculum. For example, our recent Winter Concert featured mostly German songs (in German, of course) and Herr Fenoglio is getting started on putting together a fun Fasching celebration for next Spring (last year’s was a blast).
Supporting the German language programming at Desert Sky Community School would be a wonderful way for you to make German language and culture accessible to those children in Tucson for whom a private school is not an option. I hope that an outpouring of support will enable the school to further enhance its German offerings.
The beauty of the tax credit program is that it’s free to you since you are only redirecting income tax dollars you would otherwise have to pay to the state of Arizona (which as you know does not prioritize education – the state is 49 out of 50 in per-pupil funding). In other words, this is not a deduction – it’s a dollar-for-dollar tax credit against your AZ income tax liability.
Since the tax credit programs for private schools (such as IST) and public schools (such as Desert Sky Community School) are completely independent of each other, you can give up to $400 to DSCS filing jointly, or $200 filing singly, in addition to any donations you give to a private school such as IST (the maximum amounts for the latter tax credit donations are $1000/$500, respectively). If you donate more than your total tax liability for the year (up to the maximum permissible total) – for example $400 to Desert Sky and $1000 to IST – and your actual tax liability for 2009 turns out to be less (e.g. $1200), you can simply roll over the difference ($200) to the next tax year and get it back when you file your 2010 return.
The donation form and an explanation sheet for the DSCS tax credit is attached. You can also access it online by going to
http://www.desertskycommunityschool.org/supportourschool.html
and clicking on
desertskycommunityschool.org/taxcreditform (be sure to follow these steps in order)
Please don’t hesitate to email or call me (H: 321-9081; O: 206-6994) or the DSCS office (745-3888) with any questions.
Your support is very much appreciated!
Best,
Erich