Editor’s note: This article is by Lisa McCormack, of the Stowe Reporter, in which it was first published Sept. 11, 2014.
Stowe remains the biggest net contributor of property taxes to Vermont’s Education Fund.
Stowe will send more than $19.4 million to the fund this year — $2.2 million more than the No. 2 town — according to information compiled by the Vermont Agency of Education.
That’s a net payment — that is, the difference between what the town sends to the state fund and what the state sends back to the town for its schools.
Stowe collected $28,603,180 in education taxes in fiscal 2014 (July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014). That amount includes $6,167,985 in homestead taxes paid by full-time residents, including those eligible for income-sensitivity discounts, and $22,435,195 in non-residential taxes paid by second-homeowners and commercial property owners.
The Vermont Education Fund sent Stowe $9,199,220 to run its schools, and the town received an additional $100,770 in state education grants.
The state uses a complex formula based in part on the grand list — the total value of all of each town or city’s properties — to calculate the education tax that’s owed.
Like Stowe, the majority of Vermont towns and cities send more money to the state than they receive back.
But others, generally larger cities and towns with modest grand lists, receive more than they send.
Brad James, the education agency’s education finance manager, said in a telephone interview last week that the perception that there are “sending and receiving towns” can be misleading.
“It’s not the town,” James said. “It’s the individuals living in the towns who pay taxes. People can’t get past the idea of the town collecting the money.”
Vermont has 259 towns and cities. Of those, 149 communities will make net payments to the Education Fund this year.
Stowe has been the top contributor to the Education Fund for years, due to the high value of its grand list.
Towns with ski areas top the catalog of school tax payers. That’s partly because of the value of the ski resorts, and partly due to related vacation homes and commercial real estate.
Following Stowe, Vermont’s highest contributing towns include Ludlow ($17.4 million), Stratton ($11.3 million), Dover ($10.6 million), Killington ($9.6 million), Woodstock ($9.5 million), Williston ($8.3 million) and Shelburne ($8.1 million).
Towns and cities among the largest net recipients of education-tax money include Rutland City ($16.3 million), Springfield ($14.5 million), Milton ($10.8 million), Burlington ($7.9 million), St. Johnsbury ($6.3 million), Winooski ($5.8 million) and Georgia ($5.6 million).
It’s not uncommon for there to be huge differences between the amounts of education tax that neighboring towns collect and the amount of education funds they receive from the state.
For instance, Stowe, Morristown, and Elmore make up the Lamoille South Supervisory Union. Elmore sends $1,941,064 to the Education Fund and receives $1,564,973 back, for a net payment of $376,091. Morristown sends $6,871,101 and receives $10,127,739 back, a difference of $3,256,638.
