Schools get $3.5 million from sales tax
Latest quarterly distribution up $500,000 from July
Photo provided Medina High and other public schools around the county are benefitting from part of the $3.5 million in sales taxes distributed by the county in October for school improvements.
MEDINA – Sales tax revenue seems to be on the rise in Medina County and that’s good news for public schools.
County commissioners recently authorized the distribution of $3.5 million in sales tax revenue collected in July, August and September for capital improvements in school districts around the county. That’s up from $3 million collected in the second quarter of the year.
County Auditor Mike Kovack reports that sales tax collections typically fluctuate throughout the year dropping somewhat in April, May and June and rising again in the third quarter. That was the case this year and last year as well when second quarter collections totaled $2.9 million before rising to $3.5 million again in the third quarter of 2017.
The overall trend has been upward, however, and sales tax collections reached record levels in Medina County in each of the last six years. That’s a relief for both school and county government officials who feared a drop-off in sales tax collections after a federal ruling that Ohio can no longer collect sales tax on certain Medicaid services.
A seventh consecutive sales tax record in 2018 is possible, but not certain, however. Kovack said revenue increases have been modest so far this year and the fourth quarter will determine if collections exceed the $13 million projected at the beginning of the year.
Area schools have been benefiting from sales tax revenue since county voters approved the half-percent tax in 2007 making Medina the only county in Ohio to pass a sales tax for capital improvements in public schools.
The funds from the sales tax are awarded proportionally based on the number of students enrolled in each school district. The money is divided between the county’s seven public school districts and the Medina County Career Center with small percentages also awarded to the Medina County Board of Developmental Disabilities and Rittman and Norwayne school districts which serve small sections of the county.
Following is a list of the approximate sales tax amounts going to each school district in October:
• Black River — $82,600
• Brunswick – $881,000
• Buckeye – $276,000
• Cloverleaf – $297,000
• Career Center – $128,000
• Highland – $392,000
• Medina MRDD Board – $4,200
• Medina – $842,000
• Norwayne – $7,000
• Rittman – $2,700
• Wadsworth – $591,000.
County commissioners recently authorized the distribution of $3.5 million in sales tax revenue collected in July, August and September for capital improvements in school districts around the county. That’s up from $3 million collected in the second quarter of the year.
County Auditor Mike Kovack reports that sales tax collections typically fluctuate throughout the year dropping somewhat in April, May and June and rising again in the third quarter. That was the case this year and last year as well when second quarter collections totaled $2.9 million before rising to $3.5 million again in the third quarter of 2017.
The overall trend has been upward, however, and sales tax collections reached record levels in Medina County in each of the last six years. That’s a relief for both school and county government officials who feared a drop-off in sales tax collections after a federal ruling that Ohio can no longer collect sales tax on certain Medicaid services.
A seventh consecutive sales tax record in 2018 is possible, but not certain, however. Kovack said revenue increases have been modest so far this year and the fourth quarter will determine if collections exceed the $13 million projected at the beginning of the year.
Area schools have been benefiting from sales tax revenue since county voters approved the half-percent tax in 2007 making Medina the only county in Ohio to pass a sales tax for capital improvements in public schools.
The funds from the sales tax are awarded proportionally based on the number of students enrolled in each school district. The money is divided between the county’s seven public school districts and the Medina County Career Center with small percentages also awarded to the Medina County Board of Developmental Disabilities and Rittman and Norwayne school districts which serve small sections of the county.
Following is a list of the approximate sales tax amounts going to each school district in October:
• Black River — $82,600
• Brunswick – $881,000
• Buckeye – $276,000
• Cloverleaf – $297,000
• Career Center – $128,000
• Highland – $392,000
• Medina MRDD Board – $4,200
• Medina – $842,000
• Norwayne – $7,000
• Rittman – $2,700
• Wadsworth – $591,000.
