*

*
Politics Extra
Enquirer reporters give the scoop on what your politicians are doing


Jessica Brown,
Hamilton County reporter


Jon Craig,
Enquirer statehouse bureau


Jane Prendergast,
Cincinnati City Hall reporter


Malia Rulon,
Enquirer Washington bureau


Carl Weiser,
Blog editor


Howard Wilkinson,
politics reporter

Powered by Blogger

Friday, February 15, 2008

Who pays the most taxes?

Cincinnati Public Schools often draws the biggest headlines for its tax levies, but the district of nearly 35,000 students is actually nowhere near the top of the list in terms of the levy's actual cost to taxpayers. Hamilton County Auditor Dusty Rhodes released an updated list today comparing tax levies in Hamilton County’s 23 school districts. Those in the Madeira School District (about 1,600 students) pay the most at $1,373 a year. Residents in the Indian Hill School District (about 2,300 students) pay the least at $670. All values are for the owner of a $100,000 home. The Cincinnati School District was 12th on the list at $1,022 a year.
The following school districts have levies on the March 4 ballot: Cincinnati, Loveland, Milford, Princeton, Reading, St. Bernard-Elmwood Place and Winton Woods.



Here's the full list:




1. Madeira CSD $1,372.58
2. Finneytown LSD $1,299.00
3. Mariemont CSD $1,268.84
4. Loveland CSD $1,204.57
5. Mt. Healthy CSD $1,183.79
6. St. Bernard/Elmwood Place CSD $1,146.98
7. Wyoming CSD $1,126.31
8. Winton Woods CSD $1,112.26
9. Deer Park CSD $1,103.73
10. Milford EVSD $1,045.77
11. Lockland CSD $1,024.99
12. Cincinnati CSD $1,021.99
13. Forest Hills LSD $ 968.26
14. Sycamore LSD $ 929.29
15. North College Hill CSD $ 924.53
16. Norwood CSD $ 891.37
17. Reading CSD $ 856.67
18. Oak Hills LSD $ 819.56
19. Northwest LSD $ 818.80
20. Three Rivers LSD $ 781.61
21. Southwest LSD $ 698.59
22. Princeton CSD $ 692.93
23. Indian Hill EVSD $ 670.18

Great Oaks JVSD $ 59.15

Cincinnati CSD and Northwest LSD are not part of the Great Oaks Joint Vocational School District.


20 Comments:

at 2:08 PM, February 15, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Let's look at Bang for the buck. Compare that list to their academic ranking. My guess is that CPS finishes 23rd on the list with respect to performance.

 
at 3:25 PM, February 15, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

And let's look at the poverty rate for each of these districts while we're looking at results, eh?

Apples to apples - CPS tops the urban districts in Ohio and is continuing to improve.

 
at 3:31 PM, February 15, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'd like to see the median price of homes for these neighborhoods also. That makes it even more dramatic.

Madeira, Mariemont, Wyoming are all pretty high-priced homes to begin with, so being high on this list makes their levies even more expensive.

And Indian Hill can be the lowest and still rake in huge amounts from each individual since the home prices there can be astronomical. $670 per $100,000 brings in a hefty amount on multi-million dollar homes.

 
at 3:38 PM, February 15, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

There should be a levy on the Cincinnati ballot to REFUND some of the property tax to the homeowners. And why are renters and other non homeowners allowed to vote on property tax issues?

 
at 4:21 PM, February 15, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

This shows the average cost on a $100,000 home so of course CPS isn't going to be the highest compared to other school districts because Cincinnati has far more homes. Simple math shows this... for example, say 5 homes pay $600 in taxes and 2 homes pay $900...then yeah, the 5 home district pays less per house but in total they are paying far more in taxes than the 2 home district ($3000 vs. $1800) So, while Cincinnati might not pay as much per home, we are paying far more in taxes for public schools than any other school district.

 
at 4:28 PM, February 15, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

^Paying more, because CPS has the most students.

 
at 4:37 PM, February 15, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

"WE" aren't competing against other urban districts for students. "WE" are competing against oak hills, sycamore, Indian Hill, Mason, etc...

Who cares about improvement against other urban districts - show me that you can compete with the local schools and then we can talk. No to the Levy.

 
at 5:29 PM, February 15, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Landlords pay property taxes and that is reflected in rent. Therefore, renters indirectly pay property taxes.

 
at 5:53 PM, February 15, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

People need to remember that improving schools benefits the entire community, by increasing property value. Especially in this real estate market, location is everything. My husband and I are planning a move soon and we wouldn't even consider buying in Cincinnati Public School District. Not when their are so many better school districts nearby.

 
at 7:16 PM, February 15, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anon 5:29,

You are not accurate when you say renters pay their property tax share thru rent. Some renters are locked into a present lease. And a renter can vote for a levy and shortly move from Cincinnati into NKy or anywhere out of the City. And raising rents to pay for levys is a difficult thing to do with the climate of high rental competion. This is 32 years of experience talking. The constant barrage of yearly ballot levys will drive the good landlord out of the City. Every time we vote there is a levy or two or three on the ballot. How many times a year can you raise rents. We must insist that those who survive on public money be smart with the money. Cincinnati Public Schools have proven not to be smart with the peoples money. NO to the school levy!!!

 
at 7:49 PM, February 15, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Doesn't it make sense to spend tax dollars on school buildings and education and not for building jails to house the kids we failed to properly educate?

 
at 8:43 PM, February 15, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

As long as there is a breakdown of the Family, there will be a need for more jails. And as long as there is a breakdown of the Family, education will suffer. The good performing City schools have parental involvement. Money has little to do with quality education. You will see this when these newly constructed schools will produce the same poor results as we see now. We must learn to think with our heads, not the heart.

 
at 1:55 AM, February 17, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

There's an awful lot of "farms" in Indian Hill. Lower real estate taxes

 
at 11:18 AM, February 17, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

And, why are there 23 separate school districts in Hamilton County.

Why not just one.

Let's have the Wyoming or Maderia School Board represent the one new district - but never never the Cincinnati board.

 
at 2:49 PM, February 17, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

It's easy to have a well-rated school district when your home prices are so high that you ensure your students are all upper middle class and come to school well-prepared. Not so easy when most of the district lives in poverty.

Money alone can't change the outcome, but lack of money never helped change it either.

The district has been a good steward of money. While school districts usually run a new levy every 3-4 years, Cincinnati has stretched this one out for EIGHT years. They have stretched it out beyond the pale, though, and kids and classrooms are going to suffer exponentially if the levy does not pass. That's not a threat but a reality.

The district can not continue its progress if class size is increased to 40 students and teaching staff cut, and support staff such as reading tutors and counselors are eliminated.

Cincinnati children need the support of our city's citizens on March 4. Vote Yes on 10.

 
at 3:11 PM, February 17, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

You get what you pay for... We pay a sh**-load of money to CPS, and we get a load of sh**.

No way to levy

 
at 12:39 AM, February 18, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

The average cost per student for Cincinnati Public Schools is approximately $10,000 according to the U.S. government. That's as expensive if not more expensive than many of the best private schools in the area. Yet, the private schools outperform the public schools in nearly every area. It comes down to accountability, and people in public schools just aren't held accountable nearly to the same level as those in private schools. The problem with public schools is that there's no direct competition among schools, and most of the students and parents treat education like it's free. Not to mention that they don't teach the future of our country morality or ethics to the extent that they do in private institutions.

 
at 8:01 AM, February 18, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

This levy would put Cincinnati at the top of that tax list, and would still remain at the bottom in performance.
Vote double no waaaaaay.

 
at 8:17 AM, February 18, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Farms in Indian Hill" is same scam the rich play across the country: build a giant home on 10 acres, keep some horses for your overindulged children and call it a farm for tax persons.

 
at 5:13 PM, February 20, 2008 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Lets be real here. I am the owner of a four-family apartment building, occupied by senior citizens living on fixed incomes. If I raised their rent every time the property taxes or water or heat bills increase, these people could not afford the rent.

 
Post a Comment*

* Our online blogs currently are hosted and operated by a third party, namely, Blogger.com. You are now leaving the Cincinnati.Com website and will be linked to Blogger.com's registration page. The Blogger.com site and its associated services are not controlled by Cincinnati.Com and different terms of use and privacy policy will apply to your use of the Blogger.com site and services.

By proceeding and/or registering with Blogger.com you agree and understand that Cincinnati.Com is not responsible for the Blogger.com site you are about to access or for any service you may use while on the Blogger.com site.

<< Home


Blogs
Jim Borgman
Today at the Forum
Paul Daugherty
Politics Extra
N. Ky. Politics
Pop culture review
Cincytainment
Who's News
Television
Roller Derby Diva
Art
CinStages Buzz....
The Foodie Report
cincyMOMS
Classical music
John Fay's Reds Insider
Bengals
High school sports
NCAA
UC Sports
CiN Weekly staff
Soundcheck