Contact Your Senators to urge them to VOTE NO!

 
Recently the US Senate has introduced a bill that negatively impacts public school districts.  This bill, known as the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act" includes major changes to federal tax policies. 
 
The bulk of public school district revenue comes from state and local property taxes and state and local income and sales taxes, which are currently “write-offs” for nearly a third of the nation’s taxpayers. This bill repeals ALL state and local tax deductions. 

 The loss of those state and local tax deductions (SALT) in the Senate tax bill will restrict the ability of school districts (as well as states, cities, and counties) to maintain or raise operational revenue for schools and other public services. 
 
The repeal of the SALT deductions will lower home values by 10% (estimated in September by the National Association of Realtors), resulting in a reduction in assessed valuation (i.e. the property tax base) on which public school revenue generally relies.   
 
The tax bill also repeals the tax benefit of advanced refunding of local government bonds often used to efficiently finance public school infrastructure improvements.
 
Along with the financial implications, the bill will repeal Obama Healthcare mandate that could raise premiums of health care and kick millions of Americans off of their current health care.
 
The  Cleveland Metropolitan School District opposes the current form of this bill due to the collateral financial damage that will result if passed. 
 
Currently, the bill has recently passed out of committee and will come up for a full Senate vote the week after Thanksgiving.  
 

Your opinion on the Senate Tax Bill can be voiced by asking for your Senator at: 202-224-3121.

Photos are courtesy of the George Gund Foundation