In February, Steve Clark, Kettering’s School Treasurer, reported that real estate revenue exceeded his original estimate by $1 million. Now, the school district has received the auditors final report, the“real estate settlement,” and it is clear that the unexpected $1 million in February will not mean additional income for the school district. In fact, the final auditor’s report shows that the total real estate taxes received by the Kettering School District, at $42.5 million, is $800,000 short of Mr. Clark’s original budget estimate.
But unexpected increases in public utilities tangible personal property tax is $538,000 more than expected, and so, that, along with the $200,000 in additional real estate tax from Greene County, should make Mr. Clark’s original estimate work out close to his original prediction. Here is Mr. Clark’s memo:
To: Kettering Board of Education
Dr. James Schoenlein, Superintendent
CC: Treasurer’s Office Staff, Administrative staff, Mike Bock
From: Steve Clark, Treasurer
Date: April 15, 2010
Earlier this week we received our real estate tax settlement from the Montgomery County Auditor and as we’ve been hearing, Real Estate Settlements are down. I estimated we’d receive about $43.3 million, but we’ve only received about 98.2% of that ($42.5), leaving us about $800,000 short of my estimate.
However, our public utilities tangible personal property tax settlement was $538,000 higher than forecast, offsetting the shortage in real estate. Public Utilities still pay taxes on their inventory and equipment and it’s a “current year tax,” meaning we don’t know the value of the property until the tax is paid. However, this is the last calendar year that telecom companies will pay that tax so it will be considerably lower next calendar year.
We should also receive a small real estate settlement from Greene County, for the portion of the school district in Sugarcreek Township, of around $200,000. That would put us very close to the fiscal year estimate for tax revenue.
I wanted to bring this to your attention because after I shared our tax advance information with you two months ago an unscrupulous blogger reported, in bold headlines, that the district had received an extra $1 million dollars in tax revenue. I also wrote at that time that we needed to wait until we received the tax settlement before we knew our actual tax picture.
Information for the Board, Superintendent and Mike Bock
Next week I’ll be at the OASBO Annual Spring Workshop in Columbus Wednesday through Friday
Written By Mike Bock
…an unscrupulous blogger reported, in bold headlines…
I think that’s a bad word choice–maybe Goofus and Gallant might inspire a better choice.
This website seems to have turned into Kettering Schools OS. I know Bock ran for the board and got upset about the difficulty in accurately articulating the arcane math of school levy taxes and “effective rates” as appraisals, collections and rates rise and fall with the simplicity that voters want. Which I guess deserved some attention. And the dependence of school systems on local real estate taxes which bring hardship to and no votes from those onn fixed incomes, and which is still officially unconstitutional even if no one will remedy this, does too. But aren’t there other things happening in this community?
Stan, Thanks for the comment. You make a good observation. When I initiated this new template for DaytonOS, I erased the old “ABOUT” page and still have not replaced it with new content. I’m trying to redefine how this site should develop. The idea of “OS,” named by the original operators of the site, David Esrati and Mike Robinette, indicated a grand vision of purpose for the site — “Operating System.” I thought it an inspired name, and implies that the internet can be effective in creating / supporting an engaged group of individuals who become a viable and viable force in the community at large.
I’ve not given up on that general idea, but, in order to move it forward, I am going to need to put much more time and effort into making it a reality. My two big areas of interest is 1) improving and transforming public education and 2) vitalizing our democracy. Understanding what is happening in the Kettering School District is a good venue to understand public education in general, and Ohio public education, specifically.
Thanks for the encouragement to expand what I am writing about. As it is, posts on DaytonOS has devolved into what catches my interest and lately that has been mostly Kettering Schools. I’ve appreciated your thoughtful participation in comments to DaytonOS in the past and I want to post articles you will want to continue to respond to. And, my idea for this new format is that the top left column of the front page will be a spot for contribution from guest columnists. Please consider attacking some topic or news item and writing an article and posting it here.
Eric, I sent an e-mail to the Kettering Treasurer, Steve Clark, questioning his use of the word “unscrupulous,” in a general memo, sent to individuals whom I’ve not ever spoken with. Clark and I have had some good conversations and I think he has a good sense of humor, so I took it that, in the memo, he was kidding me, but I wondered if the recipients of the memo would understand he was joking. He responded that the recipients of his memo understood that he was joking. “They know it’s an attempt at humor,” he wrote, “but I’ll let them know you’re are not unscrupulous.” He said he changed the memo and omitted the word, “unscrupulous.”
oooh nice info!