What do I know about the New Markets Tax Credit program that I didn’t learn in the past hour? Zero.
What did I learn in the past hour? I learned NMTC was created to help economically distressed communities attract private capital. I learned Decatur’s school board is considering applying for an NMTC award to help pay for a new preschool building.
The census tract* where the Decatur school board (actually it’s just Superintendent Whitaker, Carmen Sulton, Hans Utz, and James Herndon) wants to build is, indeed, an NMTC-eligible tract.
Here’s a screenshot of the eligibility map:
Remember though: eligibility is just the minimum requirement.
Technically I am eligible to be President of the United States and People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive. Neither is likely.
Again, what I know about this program wouldn’t fill a Go-Gurt tube, but I’m guessing this program’s administrators would prioritize supporting communities that need investment but can’t otherwise attract it.
Decatur does not actually need help from a federal tax credit program to build or renovate a school. Decatur has a strong tax base and the school board has authority to issue bonds.
Decatur already has the ability to pay for what it needs (renovations of existing buildings, more teachers, higher pay). It even has the capacity to pay for a new building we don’t need but board is monomaniacally obsessed with.
What Decatur lacks is a school superintendent or school board majority that city residents trust. School leaders know this, which is why they’re doing everything they can to avoid putting the funding question in front of voters.
The school board doesn’t need help attracting investment. It needs credibility with the public. There‘s no federal program currently offering that.
(*If you want to find it on the map yourself, go here and search for Census Tract 13089022501)