Where's the courage to fix school funding mess?

School officials in Northern Kentucky have been complaining for years that the state's school funding formula must be fixed, because it unfairly penalizes fast-growth districts. More money goes to Frankfort from these areas than ever comes back.

You'll never get a better illustration of the problem than a situation Enquirer reporter Brenna Kelly described in today's paper.

It all started when former Boone County Property Value Administrator Ron Burch committed suicide. It turned out tax assessments were a mess in Boone County, and the state ordered an emergency assessment review. A review of Boone's commercial property resulted in a $1.2 billion increase in the overall value. That's not a typo. $1.2 billion.

So, here we have an 18,000-student district that is growing at the equivalent rate of having to build a new school each year -- 600 to 700 new students are expected later this month when Boone schools open. Facilities and staff are stretched to the max. You'd think this huge assessment increase would be great news, since property taxes provide a big chunk of school funding.

However, because of the way the state aid formula works, Superintendent Bryan Blavatt says that this will mean a net loss of $5.2 million to the district. A hike in local property values causes the formula to send less from the state. And the school district can't reap the windfall increase in property value because a state law limits tax revenue hikes to no more than 4 percent a year. Larger increases are possible but subject to a voter recall.

Here's why the state funding formula has been too hot for politicians to touch: No legislator from a poverty-stricken area of Eastern Kentucky can go back home and say it's OK to cut their local funding so Boone County can get more. But the answer is obvious, and everyone knows it: Fix the formula to stop penalizing fast-growth districts and find the revenue to benchmark everyone's funding at current levels.

Political courage might be helpful at home, too. Boone's board chairman, Steve Kinman, says there is no way the board will consider raising tax rates to generate more than a 4 percent revenue increase. If all other means are exhausted, the board could take the political risk of telling the public how much it will need to raise taxes to at least make up for the shortfall. Otherwise, the implication is that the district never really needed the money, right?

Nobody enjoys paying taxes, but Boone's parents and taxpayers also aren't supporting public schools the way people do in some neighboring districts.

Even if Boone raised its tax rate by 8 percent, its rate would go from $5.24 per $1,000 of assessed valuation to $5.66. For comparison, here are tax rates of some nearby districts: Kenton County $5.56; Fort Thomas, $8.56; Covington, $9.22; Beechwood, $7.01; Walton-Verona, $10.06. (Here's a link if you want more detail on local taxes.)

You either care enough about the students to take some political risks, or you don't.