Last updated on June 6th, 2021 at 08:35 pm

It’s been many years since my children have been in school. I have changed my mind several times about how property taxes subsidize schools and whether people with no children in school should pay that part of property taxes. I believe that there are communities that have a waiver for seniors for the school part of property taxes. This is a topic that comes up in conversation from time to time then goes away. This article is not to discuss the pros and cons of funding schools per se or if you should or should not be paying property taxes to fund schools.

The purpose of this article is to explore the value of schools to the community beyond the obvious that they educate the population who will eventually be serving the public when they graduate. I want to focus on the profound affect that a good school has on the value of residential neighborhoods. The impact can not be understated when you are looking for a home.

Regardless if you have school-age children or not, buying a home in a neighborhood with a school that has a good or great rating will affect several things. First, property values are generally higher as parents tend to want the best for their children. Second, because there may be more children in these neighborhoods, the crime rate is usually lower because parents tend to be more vigilant and the police tend to visit more often.

These generalizations are just that. Not always true but true in most cases, enough to affect how people buy their homes. Real estate agents today are working under many restrictions about what we can and can not say (yes, I am a broker). We are not supposed to pass along specific information about the best schools etc. What we can do is tell our clients where to find the information they seek about school ratings. Actually, most parents already know where to find the information and have done their homework (a pun) before they begin working with an agent.

Let’s discuss how schools are generally rated. The ratings are from 1-10 with 10 being the best and there are few 10 rated schools in the country. If you really want to locate in an area with a very high score look at an 8 and 9. Even 7’s are good in some areas. It’s a strange thing that a lower elementary school can be rated a 7 and the high school can be rated a 9 but it happens. If you are planning on staying for years, look at all of the schools even if your children are younger.

For those of you who have no children living with you, try to see what parents see. Better schools, better neighborhoods. Yes, we would all like to live in a great neighborhood and it’s terrible that some neighborhoods are crime-ridden and the schools reflect apathetic parents. Do what you can about this by joining community groups to help improve those neighborhoods. When it comes to where you want to live either because you have small children or you just want a better-maintained neighborhood, just look at the school ratings.

People often ask about the crime rates in an area. Again, something that an agent can not get into. We tell people to check the web for various sites that provide this information. One time, I looked at crime maps for some areas and then looked at the school ratings. It was no surprise that high crime areas had schools with low scores. You can see the correlation. I have a friend who came from a very poor neighborhood who told me that even though his family had little, they refused to let their house deteriorate or allow their living circumstances to rule their life. They cleaned their home, painted as necessary, studied, and did well in school. My friend is a successful investor and an all-around great business owner.

We wish everyone well in the end however, the quality of life is in large part due to where you live and socialize. I have found that areas with good schools foster the kinds of positive outcomes that I want for the area where I live. While property taxes are generally higher in areas with the best schools (another correlation that I have made), the homes in those areas hold their values at a minimum and grow equity over time.

I love properties in transition. That is schools where ratings are improving and the neighborhoods are improving as well. The two concepts are absolutely linked. The more people care about the neighborhood the better the schools get. Property values increase and the neighborhood can use the equity in homes to improve the properties. If your children are very young, you may be able to afford a transitional neighborhood and as your children grow older the schools should continue to improve.

The next time you get into a conversation about if you should be paying school taxes, consider the benefits that those taxes are providing to you. Let your friends and others know that great schools are located in great neighborhoods.