Monday, August 13, 2007
Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
 Photo courtesy of here.
After building several brand new buildings to replace several that didn’t have anything wrong with them, Cincinnati Public Schools is gearing up to ask property owners for a tax increase, claiming the district faces a $79 million deficit without more money. But before we start thinking about those figures—and whether they are accurate or politicized—what about the fact that Ohio’s school funding formula has been found unconstitutional on several occasions? Should we really raise our taxes to fund a broken system? Or, should we push to fix the system first?
According to this article in The Enquirer, CPS faces a huge deficit if taxes are not raised:
Members of the Cincinnati school board agree that a major tax levy is almost certainly headed for the November ballot, less than two weeks after the board’s controlling majority said they were unsure it would be necessary.
Their abrupt realization came Aug. 2, when newly hired Treasurer Jonathan Boyd forecast a potential $79 million budget deficit by 2009 without a massive tax hike.
Here’s a recent article from the Delphos Herald, describing precisely what is wrong with Ohio’s funding formula:
All 613 districts must deal with the formula, which many say is so complicated that it’s difficult to understand and explain. However, Delphos City Schools Superintendent Bruce Sommers is up to the task.
According to Sommers, the state multiplies a uniform $5,403 per-student rate by a cost-of-doing-business factor that varies in each district. The state then multiplies that figure by the number of students. This brings Delphos City Schools to $5.6 million. The state also gives Delphos more than $49,000 as an “add-on” but then subtracts a very large portion before continuing its calculations.
“So, let’s make a long story short. If you take $5.6 million plus $49,000 in round numbers, you’ve got $5,650,000,” he began. “It would be fantastic if that were our total but it isn’t. Why not? Because the state deducts, from that number, 23 mills of what your assess valuation (property taxes) generates in your school district. Well, in Delphos, the state says we have an assess valuation — and they get this by working with Mr. Diepenbrock and Mrs. Dixon in their respective county auditor offices — of $171,949,779. Multiply that by .023 and we have to subtract $3,954,000. So, what does Delphos get? $1.8 million.”
The state then adds reimbursements for things such as transportation costs and funds paid to Vantage Career Center for Jefferson students to attend the vocational school.
“When all is said and done, Delphos City Schools’ net state funding is $2,700,000 and some change,” Sommers said.
The money deducted on the basis of property values is called a “charge-off.”
Sommers says the state only pays for one-third of the district’s annual funding, leaving local taxpayers to pick up the other two-thirds. The taxpayer burden would be much less if not for the charge-off.
According to The Enquirer article, “The levy would increase annual taxes on a $100,000 home by $299, according to the district. Today, that home’s owner pays $1,639 in property taxes, with $1,013 of that going to CPS.”
Shouldn’t we be talking about the unconstitutionality of Ohio’s funding formula before mounting a political campaign to raise taxes?
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