The Metropolitan School District of Wabash County’s Board of Education on Tuesday heard the results of a tax analysis which examined possible financial outcomes for taxpayers in a consolidated school corporation.
The study, conducted by Darren Bates of Data Pitstop, found that MSD taxpayers would provide nearly 80 percent of property tax revenue in a consolidated district with Wabash City Schools.
Bates’s study analyzed publicly-available tax data from 2017, which show that MSD had a total assessed value of $775 million compared to WCS’ $204 million.
“So tax-wise, no matter how you figure it, the burden falls upon the MSD area over the city at that point,” he said. “There’s no ifs, ands or buts about it. It’s just how much of an increase (can you save) by slimming and cutting things.”
The work session spiraled into hypothetical scenarios beyond the data presented. For example, board members wanted to know what tax rates would look like if the collective debt between the two schools were kept separate. Bates said he could not offer any suggestions based on the data as to whether the two school corporations should consolidate, however. Additionally, Bates said the data collected was to determine the assessed value and funding makeup of a combined school corporation rather than hypothetical tax rates.
“I’m just giving them the facts from the numbers,” he said.
The board agreed to discontinue further discussion of consolidation using the tax rate study unless WCS was at the table.