Edgewood Schools Says Trenton AWS Data Center Would Deliver Millions in Tax Revenue Amid Ballot Fight

Edgewood City Schools in Trenton, Ohio, has moved to publicly quantify the fiscal impact of a large Amazon Web Services data center under construction within its district boundaries, saying the project's tax revenue would help the school system avert a severe projected budget deficit in 2031. The disclosure lands just days before a contentious local vote that could restrict future data center development in the city, underscoring how the financial stakes of such projects are increasingly colliding with community concerns over pollution, noise and utility costs.

The 250-megawatt facility is being built in Trenton's industrial park, a few miles south of Edgewood High School and Trenton Elementary School. According to the district, tax revenue from the project would leave the school system with a nearly $1.78 million positive cash balance by 2031; without it, Edgewood could face a deficit exceeding $20 million, based on its most recent financial forecast. Under an agreement approved by the City of Trenton this summer, the data center's developer, Prologis, will receive a 15-year, 75% tax abatement, allowing it to pay only a fraction of local property taxes. The district anticipates a one-time up-front payment of $940,000 from Prologis, along with $1.3 million in additional tax revenue each year for the next 15 years. Once the abatement ends, Edgewood Schools would receive around $3 million annually.

The timing of the district's disclosure is politically sensitive. Some community members oppose the project and have placed a proposed charter amendment on the ballot that, if approved, would prohibit building any data center larger than 25 megawatts. The measure, which will appear as Issue 17 on Trenton ballots, has faced legal challenges, and it remains unclear whether the charter amendment could halt construction on the AWS data center already underway. City officials have indicated they may file a lawsuit if the issue passes. Edgewood Schools said in a release that it is not taking a stance on Issue 17, but wants the public to understand the financial implications. "We recognize that data centers are a complex and deeply debated topic with many non-financial factors for residents to weigh," a statement from Edgewood reads. "Our goal simply is to ensure our community has accurate factual data regarding the district's financial outlook to assist with community understanding." The district said it shared the information close to the Nov. 3 election not to take a side, but because complete financial figures recently became available.

Molly Bryden, a climate and sustainability researcher for Policy Matters Ohio, said it is not unusual for developers to offer up-front payments to municipalities and school districts to incentivize support for data center projects, particularly as many Ohio school districts struggle financially. "They will include pilot programs, or payments in lieu of taxes. The company will make a lump sum or annual payment to the community," Bryden said. "[For] a smaller community that's been dealing with decades of disinvestment, any deal that big can be sometimes hard to turn down." Supporters of Issue 17 argue the ban would protect residents from increased pollution, noise and higher utility bills linked to data center development, while opponents warn that blocking the project could forfeit critical revenue for local services.

The Trenton dispute reflects a broader national tension as hyperscale data center construction accelerates across the United States. Communities hosting such facilities are increasingly weighing the economic benefits of tax revenue and infrastructure investment against concerns over energy consumption, environmental impact and local quality of life. For school districts like Edgewood, the financial calculus is especially acute: the difference between a modest surplus and a multimillion-dollar deficit may hinge on a single industrial project, making the outcome of local ballot measures a matter of long-term fiscal stability.