Your Tax Abatements Are Costing Our Schools Millions
Okay real quick—you know how we're always talking about how Cleveland schools need more money, right? How every time there's a levy on the ballot, it feels like we're pulling teeth just to keep things afloat for our kids? So this is the thing: Cleveland schools are missing out on almost $41.5 million from tax-abated properties. Forty-one and a half *million*. Last year alone. Yeah, no, that's real.
### The Real Cost
For anyone living in Cleveland, especially on the West Side near those new developments in Ohio City or down in Slavic Village where they’re trying to build things up, you see these tax abatements happening. The idea is to bring in new businesses and residents, which is good for the city, for sure. But the flip side is that these properties don't pay their full share of property taxes that would normally go to the Cleveland Metropolitan School District.
* This $41.5 million isn't just a number; it's classrooms that could be smaller. * It's new textbooks, better tech, arts programs that don't get cut. * It's the difference between thriving schools and schools constantly fighting to stay out of the red.
We're trying to figure out how to keep CMSD financially stable, and meanwhile, there's this huge chunk of change just... gone. It’s hard to swallow when you know how much our teachers and students are already doing with so little. We all want Cleveland to grow, but at what cost to our kids' future? It feels like we're robbing Peter to pay Paul, and Peter is wearing a little backpack and just trying to learn to read.
Cleveland on the wire — we've been here the whole time. You know Keith and the guys break down stuff like this every morning, right? Catch it live at mornings.live.