By Jim Siegel
Gannett Columbus Bureau

COLUMBUS - A school-funding plan under discussion by a state task force could mean instant property tax hikes for some Ohio homeowners, but also could mean fewer levies on the ballot.

The plan would create for all districts a 22-mill levy that, unlike most levies today, would require homeowners to pay more as property values rise. Any remaining money needed to fund an adequate education would presumably come from the state.

If a district currently levies more than 22 mills, those additional taxes would remain.

At the same time, the state would adjust its funding formula to eliminate the problem known as phantom revenue - in which the state formula assumes districts are collecting more money than they really are, forcing schools to the ballot.

"It wouldn't eliminate school levies, but it would greatly reduce the frequency that schools are on the ballot," said John Brandt, executive director of the Ohio School Boards Association.

"Right now under our system, even a district that's doing everything right pretty much has to pass a levy every few years just to keep up."

The governor's Blue Ribbon Task Force on Financing Student Success continues to meet this summer to make recommendations for the next two-year budget, to be introduced in early 2005. The task force is looking for ways to pump more money into districts with high concentrations of poor students.

Under the proposal, homeowners in some districts that currently levy less than 22 mills in property tax could see an initial tax increase. (One mill equals $1 per $1,000 of assessed property valuation.) Of the state's 612 districts, about 350 are at 20 mills, the lowest property tax rate allowed under Ohio law.

But many of those districts also levy additional taxes. Emergency levies would expire under the new plan, and income taxes would be reduced by 0.25 percentage points, to soften the impact of paying two additional mills of property tax.

Mike Sobul of the Ohio Department of Taxation's Tax Analysis Division, said studies have shown the tax bills likely won't be any higher than if voters, under the current system, approved a new levy every few years, he said.

"Our main goal is less ballot frequency," he said.

The 22-mill plan, which as a constitutional amendment would require a statewide vote, likely will be altered before the task force issues a final report. Some already are raising questions, including Sen. Jeff Jacobson, R-Dayton, who is concerned the plan will provide a greater benefit to wealthy districts.

Even if an agreement is reached, crafting a tax model is only half the battle. The other half remains unknown and greatly debated - how much should schools get per pupil to fund an adequate education?

Finding agreement on that number has been very difficult.

"I don't know if we're ever going to get there," said Paul Marshall, long-time state education department official and executive director of the task force.

"Some members believe there is a dollar amount you could identify that's the right amount. But I think it's a wide range of amounts," Marshall said.

For more information about the school funding task force, check http://www.blueribbontaskforce.ohio.gov