School boards should control their own property tax exemptions, say education officials who argue that the job of granting business tax breaks should not be left to city and county governments.

However, legislation to allow school boards to decide whether to exempt new or expanding businesses from school property taxes drew criticism Thursday from other government officials, who worry that schools will be reluctant to agree to tax breaks.

"It seems fair on the surface, but I think it's so easy for (school boards) to say no," said Claus Lembke, a Burleigh County commissioner.

City and county commissions have power to grant a five-year property tax exemption for a new or expanding business. For some agricultural processing operations, the property tax exemption can extend for 10 years.

School boards have no vote on exemption decisions, even though school taxes make up the greatest share of a property tax payer's bill. The law requires only that a school representative be included in tax exemption negotiations with a business.

The Senate's Political Subdivisions Committee on Thursday reviewed legislation sponsored by Sen. David O'Connell, D-Lansford, the Senate minority leader, that would require school board approval to exempt school property taxes for a business project.

The panel took no action on the bill Thursday. The Senate will vote on it later.

The committee chairman, Sen. Dwight Cook, R-Mandan, said school districts seldom lose money from such exemptions because they have the power to increase their tax rates to raise a specific sum. Instead, the property tax burden is shifted to other taxpayers, he said.

Dean Bard, director of a group that represents rural North Dakota schools, called the legislation "a matter of fairness."

"It's letting school districts get back to … dealing with their own (property tax) levy, not having another political subdivision dealing with it for them," Bard said.

Bev Nielson, a spokeswoman for the North Dakota School Boards Association, disputed the assertion that school boards would usually reject a property tax exemption.

Companies that are seeking tax breaks also may be willing to negotiate a deal with a local school district, she said.

"School districts aren't going to say, 'Nope, not going to abate the (property taxes), so go look for another town,"' Nielson said. "But at the same time, I think that these companies that are going to come into your communities, with their employees and their children to your schools, that there's an obligation there, but … also a desire to be a community partner."

Lembke said counties are not eager to grant property tax exemptions either, unless they see a community benefit. He said changing the law would put more economic development responsibility in the laps of school board members, who he said were not suited to handle it.

"They're not in charge of economic development. It's not their responsibility," Lembke said. "They're not elected for that. They're not responsible for that. And it's a lot easier to say no to that."

The bill is SB2407.