The New Richmond Exempted Village School District has been discussing the recent revenue lost when Duke Energy began disputing their taxable personal property evaluation in June, but the board of education has been discussing a much more significant loss of revenue since 2001.

At the time the General Assembly passed the energy deregulation bill in 1999, electricity providers were paying an 88 percent tax on their personal property.

For school districts like New Richmond, the tax proved to be a significant revenue stream. Then deregulation reduced the tax to 25 percent.