Kelly Jones says he is always thinking about ways to ensure students in Columbus County Schools have the resources they need to succeed.
Jones, the district’s arts education director, has seen the number of students drop 15% over the last decade as families move away from the rural county or opt for charter, private, or homeschools. Since North Carolina largely funds public school districts based on enrollment, fewer students mean less money.
So Jones, who has worked for Columbus County Schools for 30 years, saw an opportunity in the new Education Freedom Tax Credit. When it goes into effect in January, the federal program championed by President Donald Trump will offer dollar-for-dollar tax credits for people who donate to certified scholarship-granting organizations. These nonprofits can direct the money they collect to private school students for tuition or to public school students for tutoring, career development workshops, enrichment programs, or other services.
Jones formed the Columbus County Educational Opportunity Foundation in June with three other local educators: former Columbus County Schools Superintendent Dan Strickland, the district’s current Chief Academic Officer Laura Hunter, and teacher Anthony Martin. The foundation gained tax-exempt status and hopes the state will certify it as a scholarship-granting organization. If so, it plans to raise money for academic, arts, and other programs to help the district’s 5,200 students—74% of whom are economically disadvantaged.
“We’re always looking for opportunities for kids, ways that we can expand their learning in the classroom and outside the classroom,” Jones said. “A lot of those take money.”
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act that Trump signed into law last year established the country’s first federal school-choice program. The program allows funds to be used to benefit students in both private and public schools. North Carolina is one of 30 states that have said they will participate.
Individuals can donate up to $1,700, and married couples can donate up to $3,400 a year to scholarship-granting organizations, which they can then use to reduce their tax liability. The Department of Treasury and Internal Revenue Service released their rules for the program on October 2.
Critics have raised concerns that the program will steer more students to private schools. Since public schools are already free, some say there are few things these donations could be used to support.
“This is a Trump voucher program, and so that is sort of our first clue as to what this statute and now these regulations are aiming to do, which is to privatize our education resources, exclude many different groups of students,” said Jessica Levin, director at Public Funds Public Schools, part of the Education Law Center.
Under the guidelines released last week, states cannot draw up rules for scholarship-granting organizations that are more restrictive than federal rules. States can simply decide whether to be part of the program and ensure the organizations comply with annual financial audits, Levin said.
“States won’t be permitted to create or maintain safeguards that would be more robust to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse,” she said. “They won’t be able to ensure that students using vouchers get high-quality services or make academic progress, and they won’t be able to impose civil rights protections or rights for students with disabilities.”
What’s In It For Public Schools?
As a scholarship-granting organization, the Columbus County Educational Opportunity Foundation would determine how the money is dispersed. Under federal guidelines, it would have to spend 90% of its income to help at least 10 students at different schools.
North Carolina ranked 50th in public education spending in 2022-2023, according to the Education Law Center. Columbus is a Tier 1 economically distressed county that has historically lagged in local education spending compared to urban counterparts. Without a strong tax base, county officials have struggled to keep up.
“Like many rural districts, we are always looking for additional partnerships and resources that can benefit students,” Columbus County Schools Superintendent Eddie Beck said in a statement. The foundation, he said, is “a potential partner that could bring new opportunities directly to children and families in our community.”
More than 19% of Columbus County residents live in poverty, compared to 12.5% statewide. But Jones is confident about his organization’s ability to bring in donations. Plenty of businesses and families “consistently step forward” to help students, he said.
“When you combine a program like this with a community that has consistently demonstrated its willingness to invest in its children, I believe the benefits can be extraordinary,” he said.
The tax credit program comes at a pivotal time for public education, as states and the Trump administration have worked to expand private-school vouchers that advocates feel could drain public school funds and resources. North Carolina expanded its Opportunity Scholarship program in 2024 to include all families, regardless of income.
Jon Valant, director of the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution, a nonpartisan research firm, predicts wealthy donors will give to scholarship-granting organizations with which they have close ties, including those for private schools and more affluent public school districts.
“I hope that education leaders in the state are thinking about ways to ensure that all students get the resources they need—and that this doesn’t become another case of the wealthy getting wealthier and the poor getting poorer.”
The Republican-controlled General Assembly passed the Educational Choice for Children Act in July 2025, opting into the new federal tax credit. Democrat Gov. Josh Stein rejected the bill, saying he wanted to wait for federal guidance, but lawmakers overrode the veto. Many Democratic governors have said they plan to opt out or wait to see how the program evolves.
Under federal guidelines, students could apply for scholarships from certified organizations if their family doesn’t make more than 300% of the area’s median gross income. In Columbus County, that’s $201,900 for a family of four, according to data from EdChoice.
“It’s hard to explain to people on the outside, but we have tremendous community support,” Jones said. “It’s a good idea in that we can help our students and schools. If it helps out kids, they’re all for it. I don’t think politics has played a role in our development of this foundation, or will play any role in the support of it through donations.”
North Carolina has until February 15 to submit a list of qualified scholarship-granting organizations. The North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority, which oversees the state’s voucher program—will designate and send the list to the U.S Treasury office.
“We know how important a community is, so we ramp up and can actually do the work,” he said. “We plan to reach out to everybody who’ll be willing to help.”