Ohio schools, cities, counties have growing losses from abatements

Ohio’s largest school district has had money losses from tax abatements grow more than any other district in the state over the past six years, according to a new report.

The Columbus City Schools – which recently consolidated schools and stopped busing for charter and private-school students to save money – saw losses increase 194% from 2017 to 2022, a Good Jobs First report says.

The losses are also among the fastest growing across the country.

The abatements come through tax increment financing, allowing businesses to retain increases in property taxes to spend that money on property improvements.

“It’s vital that the public knows how much their communities and school districts lose to corporate tax abatements,” said Anya Gizis, Good Jobs First research analyst and the report’s lead author. “Only then can they begin to determine whether such giveaways were worth it and ask questions about what they got in return.”

The report shows that U.S. localities lost at least a combined $93 billion in abatements over the past five years, with the annual losses rising by 28% and school districts losses rising even faster at 42% annually.

Tax abatement losses for Columbus schools totaled more than $31 million over the six-year period, beginning at $2.6 million in 2017 and growing to $7.7 million in 2023.

The percentage increase is the 11th highest in the U.S. The Columbia Public School District in Missouri showed the largest percentage increase at 1,367%.

Also, the city of Akron had the fourth-highest growth in tax abatement losses during the time span, increasing 797% from $32,800 in 2017 to $293,900 in 2023.

Toledo had the ninth-highest increase at $431, growing from $2.6 million in 2017 to $13.9 million in 2023.

Hamilton County, home to Cincinnati, had the fifth-highest increase for counties in the country, at 403%. Its abatement losses were $2.9 million in 2017 but grew to $14.8 million in 2023.

According to the report, Hamilton County’s losses were caused by the Community Reinvestment Area program, which grew from $2.7 million in 2017 to $14.4 million in 2022. All of the county’s losses were caused by abatements awarded by other governments, including by the city of Cincinnati.