The Franklin County Auditor's Office is set to return $3.5 million to schools, libraries, agencies and municipalities from the county's Real Estate Assessment fund on Wednesday.

REA funding is used to pay for real estate reappraisals and triennial updates and comes from a portion of property taxes collected in the county. The county is refunding some of its auditor fees that were left unspent.

Of the $3.5 million, nearly $2.3 million is going to school districts across the county. Franklin County cities and villages will share $268,460; townships, $170,511; libraries, $95,753; and individual county agencies will receive $670,520.

Columbus City Schools will get the largest refund, $789,018. Other school districts receiving large refunds are Hilliard City Schools, with $224,573; Dublin City Schools, with $218,667; South-Western Schools, $188,014; Worthington City Schools, $170,265; Upper Arlington, $130,361; and Westerville City Schools, $123,738.

Among cities and villages, Columbus received the largest refund, at $120,392, followed by Grove City, at $20,735 and Dublin at $20,570. Among libraries, the Columbus Metropolitan Library will receive the largest refund at $67,691, followed by the Worthington Public Library at $10,831 and the Upper Arlington Public Library at $3,934.

With this funding, County Auditor Michael Stinziano said each district will decide how best to implement the additional funds into their budget.

Before taking office in March 2019, Stinziano said area school districts and municipalities received this refund after every general election, but he's committed to administering these funds on an annual basis.

"Overall, particularly the school districts who are the largest beneficiary, appreciate and recognize a dollar back is additional funding that can help, especially with planning being so challenging nowadays," he said.

Anthony Caldwell, school board member with the South-Western City School District, said Stinziano's efforts have helped districts address issues caused by recent funding cuts.

“Thanks to the leadership of Auditor Stinziano, these funds have allowed our district to fill funding cuts we’ve seen from the state legislature,” he said. “During these uncertain times for our community, it’s comforting to know that our county auditor is still finding ways to support public education and the students we serve.”

Last year, the agency distributed $7 million. This year's amount was reduced due to Franklin County's triennial reappraisal update, which will use up a larger chunk of the fund.

– The Columbus Dispatch