"Forces Influencing the School Property Tax Burden in Westchester County" was prepared by Thomas J. Spitznas of T.J. Spitznas Associates of Mount Vernon. It focuses on new housing construction's impact on operating expenditures per pupil, non-property tax revenues per student and the non-residential tax base. According to Building and Realty Institute officials, the report finds that faster growth in new housing construction is associated with smaller increases in the tax burden.

The other study, "An Analysis of the Impact of Housing Construction on the Local Cost of Public Education in Westchester" by Richard Hyman of RH Consulting of Elmsford, analyzes data from 17 recently completed multifamily and single-family developments. The projects included 659 rental apartments, 303 owner-occupied townhouses and 200 owner-occupied single-family homes located in 13 municipalities and 11 school districts.The report calculates that market rate developments produced an average school property tax surplus of about $950 per unit. It concludes that the property tax generated by new developments outpaces the cost to educate the public school children these projects generated."What the studies show is that the argument often raised in opposition to new housing development proposals in local Westchester communities--more housing means higher school taxes--is generally without merit if sound housing development policies are pursued," says Steve McCulloch, president of the BRI. "The reports clearly negate the long-held belief that new housing construction eventually results in higher taxes for our county's residents. The studies shed light on what has been a long time misconception."