Search

This study is the first to explore the relationship between school district income taxes and school inputs (expenditures and student-teacher ratios) using Ohio as a case study. The study employed reduced-form expenditure functions on a data panel of 609 school districts between 1990 and 2010. Treating for the endogeneity of school district income taxes, we found that income tax adopters in Ohio spent $0.20 of a dollar of the tax revenue on operating purposes, and they spent four-fifths of this $0.20 on instructional services that were likely to induce gains in student achievement. Also, we found ambiguous evidence on the effect of income tax revenues on student-teacher ratios.

From 1995 through 2014, 15 percent of school districts nationwide closed at least one school without opening any new school. Although budgetary constraints have been claimed as a major reason to close a public school, no empirical study has examined the financial benefits of school closures. This study finds that Ohio school closures reduce an average district's total operating expenditures by $278–$285 per pupil, and that savings come primarily from cuts in classroom instructional services, including teachers. This study provides empirical evidence on the financial implications of school closings needed for stakeholders involved in a school closing process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a panel of 609 Ohio school districts from 1990 to 2008, this paper investigates the effects of school district income tax on operating property tax revenue. After correcting for endogeneity, the results do indicate a substitution effect that lowers the property tax levy. Despite reduced property taxes, greater income taxation is mostly to increase total revenues. By how much total revenues increase varies widely depending on the relative and absolute sizes of property and income taxes. We also find that school districts were able to increase the amount of the property tax by a greater amount than nonadopting districts in the years following the adoption of income taxes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]