A Dollar in a Dollar Fifty Out:
Property Taxes, State Funding for Schools, and How that Benefits Corbett:
After the holidays are behind us I always find myself looking forward to that special time of year that we all love so much: Tax time! Looking through my taxes I noticed the money I am contributing to paying off the
Corbett Supports Corbett Schools
grade school bond. The voter approved grade school bond will be paid off in a little less than two years. In addition to the grade school bond all of us who earn an income and/or own property in Corbett contribute to supporting the operation of Corbett School District. The way that schools are funded in Oregon is a little tricky but I think it is worth explaining.
How Are School Districts Funded?
School Districts receive money from the state from two baskets. The first basket is something I will call “local support” and the second basket is something I will call “state support”. The money that fills the “local support’ basket is generated by property taxes and the money that is in the “state support” basket comes from other taxes like income tax. So, if you own property in Corbett you put money into the “local support” basket and if you pay income tax you put money into the “state support’ basket.
The amount of money a district receives has nothing to do with how many “local support” dollars are put into each district’s “local support” basket. This feels strange, because it is! Let’s use Corbett as an example.
This year Corbett School District is expecting to receive about 7.6 million dollars in support from both baskets. The state predicts that Corbett residents will put about 1.3 million into the “local support” basket by paying our property taxes and so the State will send an additional 6.3 million to Corbett School District from the “state support” basket to total about 7.6 million dollars. IF Corbett residents suddenly paid only .5 million in property tax the state would increase the amount of “state support” by .8 million so the overall total would remain at 7.6 million. Conversely if we pay more in property tax the state pays less.
Taxes Support Kids and the Corbett Economy
Districts with many residents paying high property taxes may receive most of their support from the “local basket” while districts with very few property owners receive most of their support from the “state support” basket.
But still, as I looked at my own personal tax burden, I started thinking about what do my property tax dollars do for Corbett? What do all of our property tax dollars, all 1.3 “millionish” of them, do for Corbett?
Your Property Tax Dollars Support Corbett!
First, all the dollars we pay in property tax are used to support Corbett students. One thing that Americans believe in is a free education for every child. Property taxes are a way we all help make this a reality for Corbett kids from ages 5-18. An educated populace is a benefit to all of us. But, this is not the only benefit Corbett receives from the property tax we pay.
Corbett School District Supports Corbett
In addition to supporting the education of youngsters, the 1.3 million dollars we collectively pay in property tax, is a primary driver in the Corbett economy. In fact for every dollar we pay in property tax ,Corbett School District contributes a dollar fifty to the local Corbett economy. Let me explain.
The district contributes to the Corbett economy by contributing about 1.8 million in salaries and benefits to Corbett residents. Further, the district spends about .2 million on support services from local businesses like the Corbett Water District, Reliance Connects, Pounder Oil, Crown Point Recycling and others.
A dollar in a dollar fifty out:
Corbett residents contribute about 1.3 million in property tax to support the operation of the school. The district turns around and takes those dollars plus another .7 million dollars and contributes around 2 million dollars to the Corbett economy.
The bad news is we all pay taxes. But the good news is that our property taxes support students AND the Corbett economy. I wish that all of the State and Federal taxes we each pay had such a direct and tangible benefit to our local economy and our children.
My best,
Randy Trani
Superintendent
About Randy Trani