Howland schools to seek 4.9-mill additional levy

HOWLAND

The Howland Board of Education authorized placing a 4.9-mill levy before Howland voters Nov. 8, to produce $2.8 million in each of the next five years.

The board on Monday cited as reasons the loss of $570,000 in tangible personal property taxes this school year, $860,000 in federal and state stimulus money and the likely loss of $130,000 in property taxes.

The proposed levy would cost the owner of a $100,000 home $150 per year.

John Sheets, Howland superintendent, said the district knew it would have financial problems when it learned this spring that Gov. John Kasich was eliminating the personal tangible property tax two years earlier than originally planned.

Howland has traditionally collected the most personal tangible property taxes of any school district in Trumbull County because of the large amount of industry in the Golden Triangle area of Howland, including Delphi Packard Electric on North River Road, Sheets said.

Kasich’s budget will have the biggest impact on school districts that receive a large amount of its revenue from tangible personal property taxes, Sheets said.

As for property taxes, the district has been advised that the county’s six-year revaluation is nearly complete, and it is likely that there will be about a 10 percent drop in the township’s real estate values.