HOWLAND SCHOOLS District faces $1M cut in funds from taxes

The financial blow may be softened because of a school levy passed in May.
By ANGELA V. WOODHULL
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
HOWLAND -- The board of education is bracing itself for a potential loss of nearly $1 million a year in funding.
Two corporations, Delphi Packard Electric Systems and WCI Steel Inc., have filed for a reduction in personal property taxes with the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals, Superintendent John Rubesich said Tuesday.
As a result, Howland Schools and the township would lose a portion of that money appropriated by the state.
Ann Cornell Vickers, public relations spokeswoman for Delphi, contacted school district treasurer Tom Krispinsky about two weeks ago to inform him that the company had initiated the process, Rubesich said.
Corporations filing for reductions in the taxes they pay on personal property are not required to inform local government. The state informs the affected entities once a decision has been reached, said John Meekins of the Ohio Department of Taxation.
"There's not an automatic hearing," Meekins said.
Levy approved
In 2002-03, Howland Schools experienced a drop of about 4 percent in operating funds because of lower interest rates, less investment money, state funding cuts, delinquent property taxes and a 22-percent jump in hospitalization insurance premiums, Krispinsky said.
Unaware that it would soon be facing a potential extra $1 million loss in tax revenue from Delphi and WCI, the district sought, and voters approved in the May primary election, a five-mill, five-year additional levy that will provide the local schools with an additional $3 million a year, beginning in March.
There are no plans for cuts in services or personnel at this time, the superintendent said.
Tim Roberts, public relations director for WCI Steel, said the application for a reduction in personal property taxes was motivated through a comparison study of other steel company taxes in the area.
"Quite frankly, we're in a position right now that we're looking for ways to remain viable in the community. And compared to other Ohio steel companies, our tax valuation is much higher," Roberts said.
Vickers could not be reached.