Urban schools and the growth machine: When public education and development policy conflict

Figures & data

Figure 1. Map of areas of the city of Columbus annexed by the city but not served by Columbus city schools.

Notes: Numbers indicate suburban school districts serving children living in annexed areas: 1 Dublin City; 2 Hilliard City; 3 South-Western City; 4 Hamilton Local; 5 Groveport Madison Local; 6 Canal Winchester Local; 7 Reynoldsburg Local; 8 New Albany Plain Local; 9 Westerville City. Source: The Columbus Dispatch.

Table 1. Household demographics for city of Columbus and Columbus city schools source: 2017–2021 American Community Survey.

Census Demographics 2021 American Community Survey
	City of Columbus All Households	Columbus City Schools Households
% Non White and Hispanic	46%	79%
Income	$58,575	$42,035
Poverty Rate	18%	33%
% of Adults with Bachelors	38%	20%
Tenure: % Renters	55%	63%

Source: National Center for Education Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau.

Table 2. Change in annual property valuation per pupil for all Franklin County, OH school districts from 1986 to 2020.

		1986 to 2020 Change in APV (in 2020 $‘s)
	2020 APV	Change in APV	% Change in APV
Bexley CSD	$ 272,220	$ 96,965	55.3%
Canal Winchester LSD	$ 156,056	$ 13,214	9.3%
Columbus CSD	$ 171,803	$ 6,684	4.0%
Dublin CSD	$ 254,886	$ (42,053)	−14.2%
Gahanna-Jefferson CSD	$ 244,600	$ 70,749	4.7%
Grandview Heights CSD	$ 418,499	$ 205,442	96.4%
Groveport Madison LSD	$ 152,477	$ 57,855	61.1%
Hamilton LSD	$ 104,286	$ (1,224)	−1.2%
Hilliard CSD	$ 209,735	$ (21,942)	−9.5%
New Albany-Plain LSD	$ 234,087	$ 85,034	57.1%
Reynoldsburg CSD	$ 123,531	$ 8,774	7.6%
South-Western CSD	$ 143,518	$ 23,537	19.6%
Upper Arlington CSD	$ 386,933	$ 131,083	51.2%
Westerville CSD	$ 209,421	$ 80,111	62.0%
Whitehall CSD	$ 75641	$ (56,870)	−42.9%
Worthington CSD	$ 233,821	$ 921	.4%
Average	$ 211,970	$ 41,142	24.8%

Source: Ohio Department of Taxation, Database of Annual Property Valuation Per Pupil 1986–2020.

Source: Authors analysis of Ohio Department of Taxation data.

Table 3. Abated school tax revenues and change in abated revenues 2014 to 2022 for all Franklin County, OH school districts.

School District	Abated School Revenues 2014	Abated School Revenues 2022	Change in Abated School Tax Revenues 2014–2022
Bexley City	$ 199,107	$ 127,846	$−71,261
Canal Winchester Local	$ 185,535	$ 2,588,832	$2,403,297
Columbus City	$16,923,030	$ 61,462,439	$44,539,409
Dublin City	$ 242,587	$ 2,411,101	$2,168,514
Gahanna City	$ 1,224,687	$ 1,331,734	$107,047
Grandview Heights City	$ 591,951	$ 2,760,429	$2,168,478
Groveport Madison Local	$ 7,725,269	$ 9,539,160	$1,813,891
Hamilton	$ 1,553,020	$ 1,750,396	$197,376
Hilliard City	$ 962,286	$ 3,966,974	$3,004,688
New Albany Plain Local	$ 6,439,228	$ 4,304,462	$−2,134,766
Reynoldsburg City	$ 5,237	$ 17,687	$12,450
South-Western City	$ 3,634,639	$ 5,787,735	$2,153,096
Upper Arlington City	$ 69867	$ -	$−69,867
Westerville City	$ 204,964	$ 70312	$−134,652
Whitehall City	$ 167,996	$ 1,219,372	$1,051,376
Worthington	$ 60220	$ 634,348	$574,128
Total for County	$ 40,189,623	$ 97,972,827	$57,783,204

Source: Analysis of Franklin County Auditors Tax Abatement Database.

Table 4. Abated school tax revenues per pupil and change in abated revenue per pupil 2014 to 2022 for all Franklin County, OH school districts.

School District	Student Population 2014	Student Population 2022	Tax Revenues Abated Per Pupil 2014	Tax Revenues Abated Per Pupil 2022	Change in Abated Values Per Pupil 14–22
Bexley City	2,237	2,455	$ 81.10	$ 52.08	$ (29.03)
Canal Winchester Local	3,681	3,669	$ 5.57	$ 705.60	$ 655.03
Columbus City	50,419	45,508	$ 371.87	$ 1,35.59	$ 978.72
Dublin City	15,021	15,800	$ 15.35	$ 152.60	$ 137.25
Gahanna City	7,294	7,857	$ 155.87	$ 169.50	$ 13.62
Grandview Heights City	1,066	1,103	$ 536.67	$ 2,502.66	$ 1,965.98
Groveport Madison Local	5,621	5,958	$ 1,296.62	$ 1,601.07	$ 304.45
Hamilton	3,263	2,925	$ 53.95	$ 598.43	$ 67.48
Hilliard City	15,778	15,874	$ 6.62	$ 249.90	$ 189.28
New Albany Plain Local	4,825	5,009	$ 1,285.53	$ 859.35	$ (426.19)
Reynoldsburg City	6,695	7,065	$ .74	$ 2.50	$ 1.76
South-Western City	21,276	21,480	$ 169.21	$ 269.45	$ 1.24
Upper Arlington City	5,786	6,198	$ 11.27	$ -	$ (11.27)
Westerville City	14,632	14,133	$ 14.50	$ 4.98	$ (9.53)
Whitehall City	3,396	3,124	$ 53.78	$ 39.32	$ 336.55
Worthington	9,707	10,341	$ 5.82	$ 61.34	$ 55.52
Average for County	N/A	N/A	$ 238.52	$ 56.65	$ 322.13

Source: Analysis of Franklin County Auditors Tax Abatement Database. Student enrollment from the Ohio Department of Education.

Table 5. Pearson correlation coefficients for abatement measures and district demographic/financial condition measures.

	Pearson Correlation Coefficients (Strong Corelations in Italics)
	Abated Revenues Per Pupil 2022	Abated Revenues Total 2022	14–22 Change in Abated Revenues	14–22% Change in Abated Revenues
% of Students Economically Disadvantaged	.36	0.84	0.8	0.85
% of Students Non-White or Hispanic	.57	0.59	0.55	0.59
Per Pupil Expenditure	.24	0.44	0.32	0.46
% of Revenues Locally Generated	−.34	−0.24	−0.2	−0.35
Classroom Instruction as Percentage of Expenditures	-.78	−0.53	−0.42	−0.32
Assessed Property Value Per Pupil	−.36	−0.27	−0.23	−0.3

Source: All school district demographic and financial data is from the 2021/2022 Ohio Department of Education District Report Cards.

Assessed Property Value Per Pupil (AVP) is from the 2000 Ohio Department of Taxation School Funding database.

Note: Pearson correlations below 0.39 are considered a low correlation, moderate correlation range from 0.4 to 0.59, strong correlations range from 0.6 to 0.8 and very strong correlations are above 0.8.