Conotton Valley Union Local School District, located in Harrison and Carroll counties, is seeking a new tax levy to fill the gap its says was left after the owners of the interstate Rover Pipeline appealed its tax value.
Superintendent John Zucal says the district is losing out on millions of dollars each year because the owners of the pipeline, Energy Transfer, broke a "promise" to school districts and municipalities that had expected to receive more tax revenue along the path of the pipeline, which stretches from West Virginia, through Ohio, up to Michigan.
The district built a new $23-million athletic center, called the Rocket Center, with a bond that it expected to be able to pay back with proceeds from the pipeline. Now, Zucal say the district needs taxpayer support to keep the center running and serving both students and the community. He said the district has been eating into its operational funds to pay for the bond and the center's operations
"It's absolutely been a benefit," Zucal said of the center. "There are people that use our walking track, people that use our fitness facility, the weight room. But most importantly, it's given our students an advantage. We have a brand new, beautiful gym that was built as part of that where we hold our varsity contests, compared to a much older original gym that was antiquated in many ways."
Zucal said the school district does not serve a wealthy area, with no large industry operating nearby or high-value homes to provide a large tax base. Still, he said the levy ask - 4 mills - represents a small increase on taxes, about $140 more per year for the owner of a home valued at $100,000. The district had also previously let a levy expire in expectation of receiving more funds from the pipeline.
According to the district's website, no date's been set for settlement between the Energy Transfer and the state, although "some experts believing the appeals process through the Ohio Supreme Court could take anywhere between 2 and 5 years."
Energy Transfer responded Friday to a request for comment from Ideastream Public Media.
"We are working through the legal process to get this issue resolved, which we want resolved as badly as they do," the company said in an emailed statement. "While we work through the legal process we continue to pay estimated property taxes to each county along the pipeline route."
Ideastream has previously reported school districts also felt they were left in the lurch after years of negotiation and appeals between the owners of the NEXUS pipeline and the state, which stretches from Ohio to Michigan.
