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Student interns report link between home-value growth and Loveland Schools’ performance index
Summary
Finance interns presented a county-wide analysis showing Loveland ranks 14th in home-value growth but seventh on the performance index; presenters said their data suggest a positive correlation and proposed expanding the study to include tax rates and more counties.
A team of district finance interns presented a parcel-level study to the Loveland Board of Education on April 21 that linked home-value growth with the district’s performance index (PI).
"We began by looking at the average increase in home value across Hamilton County," said Nathan, one of the student presenters. The interns used Ohio Department of Education performance data and Hamilton County Auditor property valuations from 2016–2024 to compare trends across 23 county school districts.
The interns reported that Loveland ranked 14th of 23 districts for property-value growth while placing seventh of 23 for the performance index; they gave an average PI across the period of 97.67. Presenters and administrators characterized the relationship as a correlation rather than evidence of causation: "As home values grew, so did our performance index," one presenter said, noting a COVID-related dip in the data series.
Treasurer John Espie told the board the findings were useful and encouraged further work to overlay per-pupil expenditures and local tax rates: "It would be great to see the overlay of each of those districts and what we're spending per pupil," he said. The interns and staff noted technical hurdles (very large downloads and spreadsheet limits) and said they plan to scale the analysis with additional tools and by pulling data from neighboring counties.
The board thanked the interns for the project and encouraged next steps, including posting the slides on the treasurer’s webpage and incorporating tax-rate and expenditure data into future analyses.
The district did not present policy changes tied directly to the study at the meeting; presenters recommended additional research before drawing policy conclusions.
