Alleghany County again gets low marks for supporting schools

A recent statewide study again gave Alleghany County a low ranking for spending efforts on public schools, classifying the county among the state's property-rich counties which do not support schools proportionally.

At least one local official was quick to refute that implication. In its 16th annual Local School Finance Study, the Public School Forum of North Carolina, a nonprofit organization based in Raleigh, ranked Alleghany no. 96 of the state's 100 counties in relative effort. Data used were from the 2001-02 school year.

Relative effort is a comparison of two of the study's other tables, actual effort and ability to pay. Alleghany ranked 28th in actual effort (a drop from 23rd last year) with a total spending per ADM (average daily membership, that is, school enrollment) of $2,021. Local current spending was listed at $1,477,364, while the six-year average capital outlay was $1,365,611, for a total of $2,842,975. ADM for 2001-02 was 1,407.

In ability to pay, the county ranked no. 12, up from no. 13 last year. Alleghany was listed with $4,916 income adjusted revenues per ADM. That was based on the adjusted tax base ($1,177,760,414) times the state average effective tax rate (59.8 cents per $100 valuation), plus non-property tax revenue ($1,564,960), minus mandated social services payments ($990,746), adjusted for differences in income levels (Alleghany's per capita income was $24,798, 90.8 percent of the state average $27,308).

The local property tax rate was 55 cents per $100 valuation, as it is now.

Relative Effort

Thus Alleghany's relative effort rank was based on its local current spending effort, $1,050 per ADM, as a percentage of the $4,916 revenue per ADM figure, which came out to 21.4 percent.

Low-wealth counties with comparatively high spending levels tend to rank highest in relative effort, the study said. Scotland County was ranked no. 1, with 103.3 percent, while Clay County was last, with 15.5 percent.

Alleghany was also ranked no. 96 last year, when only current spending was considered.

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