Property value surge provides Licking County schools with extra funds
NEWARK — All Licking County school districts except Granville will receive additional revenue this year thanks to soaring property values.
The 10 districts will receive a total of $16.2 million, according to the Licking County Auditor’s Office. The compensation varies from Heath’s $539,104 to Southwest Licking’s $3.5 million. Newark will receive $2.6 million.
Licking County Auditor Mike Smith said the 23% average countywide increase in property taxes was determined by last year’s triennial update, which considers sales of property during the last three years.
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The rise in property values dropped the tax millage for most school districts below the 20-mill floor, requiring them to be compensated according to state law. As property values increase, effective millage rates are decreased so districts collect the same amount of funds voters approved when a levy was initially passed. Once they hit the state mandated floor, the districts receive additional money as property values rise. All districts in Licking County were at the floor except Granville.
“We are living in historic times for property values,” Heath Treasurer Karl Zarins said. “The Great Recession decreased property values for several years and also created pent-up demand among young people that were not able to purchase homes. This pent-up demand has now created several years of extremely strong increases in home values.”
Demand for housing, coupled with a lack of supply, has increased the average sale price for a Licking County home from $194,549 in 2017 to $248,442 in 2020. The second half of last year, the average sale price was $260,000.
Newark City Schools Treasurer Julio Valladares said the compensation amounts will likely be reduced when property owners file complaints over their taxes with the Licking County Board of Revision. He expects most will be successful in reducing their taxes.
“The owner may pay over the price because of demand and not because it’s the true value of the property,” Valladares said. “The Board of Revision gets hundreds of complaints. We’re going to have a lot of cases. We may get it one year and refund it the following year.”
Mike Smith, the Licking County auditor, said the Board of Revision just had its first hearing last week, so it’s too soon to know the results.
“Schools get about 70% of the property tax, so when you see a 15% increase, schools get 70% of that,” Smith said. “They’re still getting the lion’s share of the increase.”
Southwest Licking Treasurer Richard Jones said new construction also contributes to the compensation. Much of the new home building in the county has been in the Pataskala area.
“The additional money will be helpful especially since Southwest Licking is a growing school district and school foundation funding from the State of Ohio is capped,” Jones said. “So, for every new student enrolled in Southwest Licking Schools, the district will not receive any additional per pupil funding from the state.
“The increase in property valuation makes the school district look ‘richer’ to the state, and in turn the state sends less money to the school district, thereby offsetting a portion of the additional property tax revenue.”
Licking Heights Treasurer Todd Griffith said the district received the first half of the funds in March and may receive the second installment in August. He said news of the revenue should not have a negative impact on future levies.
“We are very transparent with our finances and communicate our position with our community,” Griffith said. “Our community is very supportive of the district. If anything, this may help us extend our operating funds for an extra year.”
Griffith said Licking Heights has the highest property tax rate in Licking County and had the second-lowest expenditure per-pupil in Ohio last year. He said during the last eight years, the state’s gain cap allowed the state to underfund the district by more than $72 million.
“This has absolutely strangled our district financially,” Griffith said. “Therefore, we will use additional money for the classroom, and hopefully prolong our need to ask for more local taxes.”
Benjamin Streby, treasurer at Career and Technology Education Centers of Licking County, said there has not been this big of an increase in real estate property values since 2002.
He said the money will be spent the same way C-TEC spends all other funds, which includes staff salaries and benefits, supplies and equipment, classroom expenditures, student needs, and maintenance of facilities.
“C-TEC does not have a separate source of funding for permanent improvements, Streby said. “All of our expenses must be funded primarily by the revenue collected on the 2-mill levy that the voters of Licking County approved in 1976 and any state aid we receive.”
Lakewood Treasurer Glenna Plaisted said the last time the district had a larger than average increase was in 1997.
“Local revenues may be increasing but state revenues have declined,” Plaisted said. “Lakewood’s state funding was cut last year by $447,621 and has been cut this year by $202,129.
“This doesn’t even include the loss of millions of dollars in tangible personal property taxes that were eliminated by state legislation. The district’s revenues are flat, and expenses continue to increase.”
Lakewood depends on two emergency levies that require voter approval every 3-5 years.
Johnstown Treasurer Kim Pulley said the district has been at the 20-mill floor since 2017. She said the levies affected by the adjustment are general operating levies spent on teachers’ salaries, instructional equipment, technology, and maintenance of buildings.
“We hope to not have to go back to our voters for new funding for some time, however maintaining our current level of funding is important to allow our school district to provide the quality of educational programs expected by our community,” Pulley said.
Licking Valley Local School District Treasurer Tonya Boyd said the district has not received this adjustment in at least 20 years. She said the state reduced school funding a year ago, with Licking Valley losing $328,356.
“The additional revenue will be used to offset the reduced revenue from state funding,” Boyd said. “The property tax adjustment allows us to continue providing a high-quality education, maintain our buildings, and bus fleet at the level our community has come to expect.”
Licking Valley has not been on the ballot for a tax levy in more than 25 years.
Heath, which received the smallest amount from the 10 Licking County districts receiving compensation, recently passed a 4-mill permanent improvement levy to address aging infrastructure. The levy began collecting this year.
The district’s operating expenses per pupil in fiscal year 2020 were almost 17% lower than the state average, and Heath was in the lowest 20% in expenditures per equivalent pupil among similar-sized districts in the state, according to the treasurer.
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School district compensation
Following are tax adjustment compensation amounts for Licking County school districts this year, according to the Licking County Auditor’s Office. Granville is the only district not receiving any compensation from the adjustment.
Southwest Licking: $3.48 million
Licking Heights: $2.73 million
Newark: $2.64 million
C-TEC: $1.55 million
Lakewood: $1.53 million
Johnstown: $1.34 million
Licking Valley: $940,751
Northridge: $764,111
North Fork: $693,184
Heath: $593,104
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