The number of home foreclosures nationwide is up 60 percent from one year ago, and it’s not just affecting the homeowner, but children of homeowners as well. According to a report on “NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams,” public schools are taking hits as districts funded by local property taxes experience higher levels of foreclosures.
“It’s going to hurt the bottom line of state budgets in terms of the monies they give to schools,” Douglas H. Palmer, mayor of Trenton, New Jersey, and president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, told NBC News.
Local property taxes account for about 30 percent of school funding, according to a recent study commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. According to the report, California could lose up to $3 billion in property taxes as a result of the foreclosure crisis, and New York State could lose up to $700 million. Sports, advanced placement classes, and much-needed facility repairs could be among the first casualties.
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