Hillsboro schools may not end year in the red
By
Brandy Chandler-brandychandler@gmail.com
Although a $600,000 to $700,000 deficit was projected by the end of the fiscal year, the Hillsboro City Schools may not find themselves with a negative balance by the end of June.
"We are holding our own," said Hillsboro Superintendent Art Reiber. "The staff has done an excellent job working to keep costs down. We may finish close to what we did last year. We started the year with a projection of $600,000 to $700,000 in deficit spending. But now, it will probably be less than $200,000. That depends on what happens between now and the end of June. We may end up with a carryover."
Reiber said district treasurer Debbie Lawwell reported to the board of education during their regular session on May 19 that they may end the year in the black.
"In October I had projected deficit spending. Now it depends on what happens between now and June 30 (the end of the fiscal year)," Lawwell told The Highland County Press. "You just predict what's going to happen and we're hoping toward a little bit of a carryover."
Reiber said whether or not the district ends with a positive or negative balance depends on if the schools has to deal with unexpected emergency costs or "excess spending of some kind."
"We think we are in good shape, compared to a lot of schools," Reiber said.
Lawwell also reported to the board on the five-year forecast, which showed positive results, she said.
"According to the Five Year Forecast presented to the Board we continue to have a positive balance until year 2013. I reported that the income tax for the year was down 11 percent for a total of $239,200. We have seen savings of about $600,000 for our general fund this year. Most of our savings have been due to the fact that we were able to use Federal Government Stimulus funds to help offset our general fund. We used the stimulus money towards technology, contracted services, maintenance of effort, and also to help with the cost of substitute teachers/aides. We have also worked real hard as a district to cut costs this year and I appreciate the hard work of the staff and administration. I believe it takes a team effort to be successful in running a district effectively.
"Everything is unknown and uncertain until the next biennial budget is released next year. School Districts have been lucky to avoid large cuts up to this point but unless something happens with the state budget we may see large reductions in our state funding. I will continue to monitor the district’s finances and update the board as more information becomes available."
The board voted to approve the five-year forecast.
In other business, the board:
• Presented a recognition plaque to Will McKenna, student liaison to the board, for his year of service on the board.
• Voted to approve the purchase of 330 new computers, at a cost of $391 each. Total cost of the purchase, which will be for the elementary schools, will be $129,000.
• Voted to approve the .5 mill fund, which Reiber said was not a levy. Reiber said the fund is "something we had to have when with the Ohio Schools Facilities Commission projects. It's a maintenance fund just in case anything goes wrong over the years, to repair roofs and that sort of thing. In the plan, we are also hired a person to maintain all of our heating and ventilation and cooling systems, and part of his pay can come from that fund.
• Recognized fifth grade students and teachers who dedicated extra time and effort to study for fifth grade testing. "The kids came in early, the teachers came in early to work on academic skills," Reiber said. "The board also recognized Shawna Matthews, who is an aid, who received the Hopewell Exceptional Achievement Award."
• Voted to approve the Hillsboro High School 2010 graduates.
Although a $600,000 to $700,000 deficit was projected by the end of the fiscal year, the Hillsboro City Schools may not find themselves with a negative balance by the end of June.
"We are holding our own," said Hillsboro Superintendent Art Reiber. "The staff has done an excellent job working to keep costs down. We may finish close to what we did last year. We started the year with a projection of $600,000 to $700,000 in deficit spending. But now, it will probably be less than $200,000. That depends on what happens between now and the end of June. We may end up with a carryover."
Reiber said district treasurer Debbie Lawwell reported to the board of education during their regular session on May 19 that they may end the year in the black.
"In October I had projected deficit spending. Now it depends on what happens between now and June 30 (the end of the fiscal year)," Lawwell told The Highland County Press. "You just predict what's going to happen and we're hoping toward a little bit of a carryover."
Reiber said whether or not the district ends with a positive or negative balance depends on if the schools has to deal with unexpected emergency costs or "excess spending of some kind."
"We think we are in good shape, compared to a lot of schools," Reiber said.
Lawwell also reported to the board on the five-year forecast, which showed positive results, she said.
"According to the five-year forecast presented to the Board we continue to have a positive balance until year 2013. I reported that the income tax for the year was down 11 percent for a total of $239,200. We have seen savings of about $600,000 for our general fund this year. Most of our savings have been due to the fact that we were able to use Federal Government Stimulus funds to help offset our general fund. We used the stimulus money towards technology, contracted services, maintenance of effort, and also to help with the cost of substitute teachers/aides. We have also worked real hard as a district to cut costs this year and I appreciate the hard work of the staff and administration. I believe it takes a team effort to be successful in running a district effectively.
"Everything is unknown and uncertain until the next biennial budget is released next year. School Districts have been lucky to avoid large cuts up to this point but unless something happens with the state budget we may see large reductions in our state funding. I will continue to monitor the district’s finances and update the board as more information becomes available."
The board voted to approve the five-year forecast.
In other business, the board:
• Presented a recognition plaque to Will McKenna, student liaison to the board, for his year of service on the board.
• Voted to approve the purchase of 330 new computers, at a cost of $391 each. Total cost of the purchase, which will be for the elementary schools, will be $129,000.
• Voted to approve the .5 mill fund, which Reiber said was not a levy. Reiber said the fund is "something we had to have when with the Ohio Schools Facilities Commission projects. It's a maintenance fund just in case anything goes wrong over the years, to repair roofs and that sort of thing. In the plan, we are also hired a person to maintain all of our heating and ventilation and cooling systems, and part of his pay can come from that fund.
• Recognized fifth grade students and teachers who dedicated extra time and effort to study for fifth grade testing. "The kids came in early, the teachers came in early to work on academic skills," Reiber said. "The board also recognized Shawna Matthews, who is an aid, who received the Hopewell Exceptional Achievement Award."
• Voted to approve the Hillsboro High School 2010 graduates.