Despite a legal opinion saying Hamilton County commissioners can keep about $6 million in tax money slated for schools, members of the local school board still hope to change their minds.
“It certainly takes away any legal standing. It takes any question out of it,” said school board member Chip Baker. Still, he said he hopes school board members and commissioners can reach agreement on how to handle the money.
“I’d expect the commission and the school board to work together to achieve a common vision,” he said.
State Attorney General Bob Cooper said money from payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreements – dollars collected by the county on behalf of the schools – doesn’t have to go straight to the school district.
In his opinion issued Monday, Cooper said, “The disputed PILOT funds are not required to be paid directly to the Hamilton County School Board when they are received and may be retained by the Hamilton County Commission.”