Supreme Court review of ‘excess SWEPT’ could force towns to remit millions, DOE staff warn

Summary

Department of Education staff told the House Finance Division II that a pending Supreme Court decision in the “Rand” matter could require towns to remit so-called excess SWEPT revenue to the state, potentially shifting $28.6 million statewide and creating cash‑flow and tax‑rate impacts for certain municipalities.

Department of Education Bureau of School Finance staff briefed House Finance Division II on a contested part of the statewide education property tax known as SWEPT (statewide education property tax), saying a pending Supreme Court order could require communities that now retain “excess SWEPT” to remit that money back to the state.

Mark Manganiello, of the Department of Education Bureau of School Finance, used a town-by-town handout to show how SWEPT currently operates and how an adverse court ruling could affect communities that collect more SWEPT revenue than the state’s calculated cost of an adequate education. ‘‘If the Supreme Court upholds the superior court order, at some point the Supreme Court would direct DRA to start collecting that excess SWEPT,’’ Manganiello told the committee. He said statewide SWEPT collections are $363,000,000 and the…

Supreme Court review of ‘excess SWEPT’ could force towns to remit millions, DOE staff warn

Summary

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