The proposed state budget poses that school districts should no longer receive state funding to compensate for lost tax money because of tax exempt or abated property, leaving local legislators and school officials concerned.
Abatements and exemption status are designed to foster economic development by lowering business expenses. City Council or the county commissioners approve abatements, and the state decides exemption status, said Jill Thompson, Athens County auditor.
Abatements are lowered tax rates businesses receive to entice them to an area, said Carl Martin, Athens City School District superintendent.
We are party to a tax incremental financing program. They are attempting to reduce our state aid
Martin said. He said he contacted state Sen. Joy Padgett, R-Coshocton, and state Rep. Jimmy Stewart, R-Athens, when he learned about the proposal on the Internet.
The budget proposal would be detrimental because Athens City School District has a large amount of tax-exempt property, Stewart said.
Though a concern of some is a loss of funding because of growth on East State Street, he said most Ohio University and county property is tax-exempt.
Wal-Mart and East State Street retail stores pay taxes directly to the city of Athens and do not receive any tax breaks, Thompson said.
The budget, which already has passed in the House of Representatives, is being debated in the State Senate. The proposal was added in the final hours before the budget passed, Stewart said. He said he believed the chairman of the House Finance Committee was responsible for the language. The chairman, Chuck Calvert, R-Medina, was traveling in Michigan and was unavailable for comment.
Padgett said she supported Martin's objections to the proposal in the budget but that other senators also seem to think the proposal needs to be removed or changed.
My interest is there for what is best for the students. I watch for every little thing that can affect the flow of money Padgett said. Every dollar that doesn't go to the school has an effect in the classroom.
Padgett asked Martin to testify on the proposal before the Senate, but he said he would be unable to do so because of a prior personal engagement.
Both Padgett and Stewart agree that the proposal might be addressed in the conference committee, when the House and the Senate meet to agree on a final version of the budget.
It's my hope that it will be addressed Stewart said. It'll be my intention to hold that change through the conference committee.
