At the beginning of this month we noted in a blog that the possibility of eliminating school property taxes via a shift to income and sales taxes might get another consideration this legislative session.  An article from central PA focused on the objections several school districts have with the idea, which gets to the local control aspect of the issue.

We noted this aspect in many of our writings on the topic in the past, including last October where we wrote about a pending case before the PA Supreme Court and the chance that a tax shift would be taken up.  How would a plan be received if there was a dollar-for-dollar swap of local property taxes for state levies, where districts that now raise a lot locally would get money back from the state pot alongside districts that get plenty from the state?  Or what about if the state said fairness is ensured by giving all districts the same dollar amount?  Almost all scenarios face a pushback somewhere, though that Brief and one in 2015 raised the option of allowing wealthier districts to break off from the state system if they want to continue to raise dollars locally.