Eighty children at Homer Davis Elementary School currently receive snack packs of food to supplement their nutrition each weekend.
“They rely on it,” says MaryCarmen Salazar Rubio, a reading instruction assistant and snack pack coordinator at Homer Davis, which is in the Flowing Wells School District.
There’s always a waiting list for the snack packs at Homer Davis, where more than 90% of the students qualify for free or reduced-cost meals, according to a 2023 report from the Arizona Department of Education Health and Nutrition Services.
Contributions through the Arizona Public School Tax Credit program help support the snack packs and the larger boxes of food students receive to tide them over during the long winter break.
Arizona taxpayers who are married and file jointly may claim up to a $400 credit on their state taxes for contributions to a public school; for single, head of household, and married filing separate filers, the limit for 2025 is $200.
Donations to Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona’s Homer Davis fund also help fund the nutrition program.
JPSA has supported Homer Davis since 2009, providing school supplies and encouraging community members to volunteer in addition to helping fund the nutrition assistance program.
One of those volunteers, Shelley Pozez, began helping out as a tutor in first- and second-grade classrooms in 2012 or 2013. After the COVID-19 pandemic she shifted her focus to special projects such as field trips to the pumpkin patch or teaching students about Hanukkah.
“Everybody gets a dreidel, and they let us light a menorah,” says Pozez.
Pozez has also contributed food baskets for Thanksgiving and Easter to some of the Homer Davis families.
Pozez “is here several times a month. She supports the kids in many different ways, beautiful ways,” says Homer Davis Principal Chris Nogami.
“I love the teachers, I love the kids. I just love the school,” she says.
While he’s not involved in the weekly snack pack distribution, Nogami joins the 30-odd volunteers who pack the boxes for winter break.
Since these boxes are too big to go in kids’ backpacks, the families usually come to pick them up. “Just the amount of gratitude that we see, they’re very thankful. It’s definitely making a big difference,” he says.
The tax credit donations also help the school fund field trips, including a Grand Canyon trip for sixth graders.
“I don’t want to sound cheesy, but it is a magical experience for the kids” to take part in an overnight trip, Nogami says.
Supporting Day Schools With Tax Credits
Since public school tax credits are separate from those for Certified School Tuition Organizations, community members can support Homer Davis or other public schools and also support Tucson Hebrew Academy and the Lamplighter Chabad Day School through tax credits.
Established in 1999, JETCO is the only Jewish School Tuition Organization (STO) in Southern Arizona.
In the 2024-2025 fiscal year, JETCO distributed $821,286 in scholarships.
STOs must support at least two schools, THA Head of School Johanna Shlomovich explains, adding that the JETCO board includes people from both the THA and Lamplighter school communities.
Donations to JETCO cannot be designated for a specific student or school.
Donors, Shlomovich says, “are trusting that JETCO is going to do the work of making sure that every child who wants a Jewish education is going to have the financial ability.”
Shlomovich notes that THA allocated over $870,000 in financial aid to 86% of the student body for the 2023-24 school year.
STO contribution limits for 2025 are $1,535 for single, head of household, and married filing separately, and $3,062 for married filing jointly.
Since 2006, corporations have also been able to make tax credit donations to STOs in Arizona.
“Corporate donations help fund at a greater level students and families that fall below the poverty line,” Shlomovich says.
Corporate donations must be made either through the low-income corporate tax credit program or the displaced students/students with disabilities program, and they must be pre-approved by the Arizona Department of Revenue.
Tax Credits for Qualified Charitable Organizations
Arizona taxpayers can also receive tax credits for donations made to Qualified Charitable Organizations that serve low-income residents or the chronically ill. In 2025, individuals may claim up to $495 in QCO credits and up to $987 for couples filing jointly. Local organizations that qualify for this credit include Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona, Tucson Jewish Community Center, SandRuby Community Fund (Handmaker’s adult daycare program) and Tucson Jewish Free Loan.
For more information on Arizona tax credits, plus ways to maximize your charitable giving before federal tax laws change in 2025, see this resource from JPSA.
Certain restrictions and rules apply. Please visit azdor.gov/tax-credits and/or contact your tax professional for details.
