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$5 million tax loss looms for Solon schools
(by Sue Hoffman - August 25, 2010)
$5 million tax loss looms for Solon schools
By SUE HOFFMAN
The loss of $5 million looms on July 1, 2013, Solon School District Treasurer Tim Pickana told the school board last week. By 2018, approximately $11 million, comprising 17 percent of the district's budget, will be lost annually, he said.
What is happening is the phase-out of the state's reimbursement for lost tangible personal property tax, he said.
Mr. Pickana heads the Coalition for Fiscal Fairness in Ohio, which aims to galvanize support for permanent reimbursement. He has been meeting with state leaders this summer to seek a solution.
"Inventory and equipment that were taxed, are no longer taxed," Mr. Pickana said. Currently, school districts are being "held harmless" for the losses through the commercial-activity tax, but state reimbursement is scheduled to be phased out from fiscal 2014 to 2018, he said.
"We cannot afford to lose this. We cannot place this burden on our taxpayers," Mr. Pickana said.
"July 1, 2013, is facing us," he said. "We have been and will continue to be the leader" of a "small group of schools in the state" that are trying to educate lawmakers about this problem, he said.
Last month, Mr. Pickana met with state organizations about the issue, including the Ohio Association of School Business Officials, Buckeye Association of School Administrators and Ohio School Boards Association, to discuss the tax loss.
These organizations need to know that "the new state funding law, if it's ever funded at 100 percent, is not going to help out our school district," he said. "If we lose this money, it's going to be devastating to our district, our community and our children. This is huge."
As a member, the Solon district is looking to the organizations to represent this cause, he said. "We need to be as aggressive with this issue as possible."
"There are only 30 districts in the state that are impacted 11 percent or more," he said, and 12 that are losing 15 percent or more. Solon is in the top 10 of the most impacted districts in the state, he said. "Most school districts are not looking at the numbers that we are."
Earlier this month, Mr. Pickana said he met with state Sen. Tom Patton, R-Strongsville, "a longtime supporter of tangible personal property."
Mr. Patton had sponsored legislation to provide permanent reimbursement, but Gov. Ted Strickland vetoed the line item from last summer's budget bill.
The legislation to phase out the tangible personal property tax was part of Gov. Bob Taft's budget in 2005.
School board members said a grassroots effort is needed to find a solution for the districts that are so impacted by the phase-out. They said that voters should be aware of candidates' views on the issue when they go to the polls this fall.
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