Eq Mills (2007-8) Similar Student Needs (25% IEPs); Similar Enrollment (pink)

Radnor low in tax effort (% of market value). p1

 Real Estate Taxes: The Basics

Each year, school board, township board of commissioners, and county officials
are authorized to set the property tax rates. Property tax is also referred to millage
tax.
Total Mills = school + township + county.

To determine $ owed based on mills.

Taxes = (assessed value ) x (mills)
1000
Note: assessed value per county assessor; value is NOT market value.
Average Radnor Property Assessment in 2009: $313,000

Taxes = ($313,000/1,000) x 20 = $6,260

p2
 Comparing Mills
People often want to compare mill rates. That is not so easily done.
1) Market values vary from district to district.
2) Counties assess differently (one factor is likely the makeup of properties - residential, commercial,
farms, etc) and millage rates are adjusted accordingly. Note contrast between 2 below.
Radnor/Delaware County: home w market value of $500,000 is assessed at $313,000 and mill rate is 20.
Real estate taxes = $6,260
Council Rock/Bucks Cnty: home w market value of $500,000 is assessed at $80,000 and mill rate is 107.
Real estate taxes = $8,025

To provide realistic comparisons of actual (i.e., market-value) tax efforts across

district lines, there is a term called an equalized mill rate which adjusts for market
value.
Equalized mill = (school districts total taxes collected) divided by (total market value) as certified by the
Pennsylvania State Tax Equalization Board.
Equalized mills also have their limitations, so it is important to understand what is unique to a district.
If the total market value is extremely high (example, # of hi value properties Lower Merion), the equalized
mill may be artificially low.

EQUALIZED mills measure tax efforts across districts

p3
 Actual Millage: 2009-10 Delaware County Comparison

Actual mill okay as reference within same county; but does NOT convey tax effort.
p4
Radnor pays one of lowest tax rates in Delaware County.
Equalized Mills: 2007-8 Delaware County Comparison

Radnor low in tax effort (% of market value). p5

Eq Mills (2007-8) Similar Student Needs (25% IEPs); Similar Enrollment (pink)

Radnor low in tax effort (% of market value). p6

 Considerations in Comparing Districts
Be cautious when comparing to other districts
1) Student needs
Indicator: % Special Education and Gifted (both legally protected)
Indicator of available resources: average personal income
2) Parent expectations
Indicator: personal income, culture
Consider expectations for staff responsiveness and level of interaction
Expectations for programs based on neighboring districts
3) Educational Delivery Model:
consider enrollment per school
Consider core and special (such as CrossRoads) offerings, class sizes, etc
4) Cost structure
Consider Total Enrollment
A large district may have volume advantage in spreading fixed costs and purchasing
power (from supplies, books, to medical plans).

Radnor is most similar to LM

in student needs, parental expectations, personal income, and scale of schools,
but LM is larger and has advantage in spreading fixed costs. p7
Special Education District Comparison, % of Enrollment

p8
Gifted District Comparison, % of Enrollment

p9
 Considerations re: Gifted
In %, Radnor is consistently among top in state, but inconsistent year to year.
Radnors % spiked in 2008
what are #s for last 2 years?

Is Radnor consistent in identifying gifted needs? Is Radnor meeting gifted

needs?
Anecdotal evidence suggests current continuum of services varies by
building and is influenced by individual administrative and teacher
philosophies rather than consistent interpretation of data & regulations)

What lessons might we learn from other districts?

North Allegheny is the consistent leader in %.
North Allegheny and Lower Merion are highest in volume.
Both districts have similar enrollments by building level (elementary, etc).

p 10
 p 11
Average Enrollment by school type

Comparison of students/school is an indicator of scale.

Radnor most resembles LM; similar to N. Allegheny, Cheltenham, Chadds Ford, RT-Media.
Note: 7/10 districts appear to not have any district outplacements. Why is that?
 p 12
District Enrollments

(Compared to N Allegheny, LM, TE, Haverford), Radnor is at dis-advantage

p 12
(ie for purchasing power and spreading fixed costs)