Understanding the True Value of a Sycamore Education

By John W. Mercurio

Is it really insightful to know that Indian Hill has the 3rd lowest tax rate in Hamilton County...without knowing that the average homeowner in Indian Hill is paying the highest actual annual property tax for schools in our area? Or does knowing that Sycamore has the 9th lowest tax rate in Hamilton County really shed any light into whether or not you are overpaying, apparently assuming that all education, regardless of district, is the same? This is the information that you will find on a typical auditor website and from other sources, and it won't help resolve the question of whether taxpayers are getting a good value.

This analysis is missing something that is very basic to the definition of a transaction: any deal is measured by the evaluation of what is paid for a certain quality of goods or services received. The traditional measures above attempt to compare all districts in the area by focusing on cost alone. But what about performance? Is it really apples to apples when comparing tax rates between a district in Academic Emergency to one that is Excellent with Distinction? Community businesses and residential life thrive in districts with high academic performance, especially in suburban Cincinnati. By no mistake, these areas also have the highest appreciation of housing as well as more desirable quality of life measures.

In an attempt to clearly understand the comparative true value of a Sycamore education to that of other Cincinnati area districts, I came up with The Value Equation. This calculates the true average annual cost of a school district to a homeowner in any district, weighing results against dollars invested. The results are clear - Sycamore Schools are the best value in the area!

Please visit my website at http://www.mercurio4sycamore.com/page16.php to see the graph and a step-by-step analysis.