A deal to finance the Akron schools’ new administration building is going to be offset by the city catching up on millions of dollars it owes the schools under a 22-year-old tax agreement.
In 1996, the city and school district agreed on a long-term deal to share property tax revenue from businesses that get tax breaks to keep or expand their operations in the city. But the city missed more than $5 million of those payments in recent years.
Now, Akron is loaning the district $10 million to buy the administration building, but the schools can apply those missed payments to the loan -- meaning they won’t have to start re-paying the city until 2023.
Superintendent David James says it’s a good deal for all sides.
“The city will get a little over a million dollars in interest from us in their investment pool. We get to move into a newer building that’s a lot more efficient than these nearly 100-year-old buildings.”
James adds that it may be time to re-examine the 1996 tax deal with the city to make sure it’s fair for both sides and to perhaps standardize when payments will be made from the city going forward.
