Mason vs Westchester (Warren, Butler: neighborhoods, school district, income)

[hazeltine2]

After a trip out to check things out I think we have settled on the Mason area for our family. However the neighborhoods we were most interested in are right near Butler Warren Road. I have heard less about problems with the Mason school district than Lakota, but is that pretty much the only difference between the two? We might be leaning towards private schools, but for resale reasons I wonder if being in one school district over the other would be preferred.

What else would impact us if we lived on one side of the street vs the other. Are there tax differences? Are the city services very different at all? Anything else I might be missing?

[kjbrill]

It is quite subjective overall. West Chester Twp and Liberty Twp are just that -townships. They are both in the Lakota school district. Lakota has a very fine reputation. Their current financial situation is not so much different as other districts in the state, including Mason.

The biggest difference is as townships they cannot levy a local income tax. Many people will say hooray that is why we want to live there. But since the majority of the people work in a jurisdiction which has an income tax I feel it is a mute point.

The City of Mason does have an income tax. But again, a large percentage of the population works in another jurisdiction which collects a larger income tax which Mason recognizes. But Mason has encouraged businesses to locate here which do have to pay Mason first so our income tax is not inconsequential.

I prefer the Mason city status because I feel we receive more in services. These vary from small items such as a city chipper coming around and picking up the tree limbs I place at the curb, to the leaf pickup in the fall, to the more significant efficiency of snow removal in the winter. I just feel the city does a better job at services overall.

Frankly, if I was considering private schools, I would avoid both West Chester/Liberty Twp and Mason. Why do you want to live in neighborhoods which are gung ho on paying taxes for schools if you are not going to take advantage of them?