What has Kings done since 2022 to be FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE?
Being stewards of district funds and finding ways to save money while providing a first class education to our students is an overarching goal and daily discussion at the District.
The Treasurer and Superintendent created 2 community groups immediately after the 2022 levy passage to review potential cost savings initiatives and advocate for state funding. Highlights of the district's successes are below:
Initiative |
Est. Savings or Revenue |
|
State Funding Advocacy |
$2,500,000 |
|
Hiring Practices |
$580,000 |
|
Personnel Savings Plan |
$929,000 |
|
Tax Incentive Agreement Review |
$273,000 |
|
Utility Purchasing |
$144,000 |
|
Health Insurance |
$1,780,000 |
|
Building Budgets (7% Reduction) |
$22,000 |
TOTAL |
$6,228,000 |
Achieving Financial Stability Discussions with the Kings Board of Education
The Kings Local Board of Education has been engaged in discussions to achieve financial stability since 2020. The purpose of these discussions is to closely examine the revenues and expenditures in consultation with the Superintendent, Treasurer, and Administrative Team of the District to determine a path forward to maintain services and address a growing student population.
The District is largely supported by local funding due to the structure of school funding in Ohio. Nearly 80% of all District revenue is derived from local property taxes. Consequently, levy planning and the development of community support for local levies is an integral part of the District’s financial planning. Kings anticipates to LOSE state support in school year 2024-2025. The District did nothing wrong, but the state funding formula views Kings as a wealthy district.
The District utilized cash reserves from the 2016 Operating Levy through June 30, 2023. The levy was supposed to last 3 years, but the district was able to make it last 6.
A Kings Board of Education voted on July 12, 2022, to place a 6.4 mill levy on the November 2022 ballot to maintain a positive cash balance on June 30, 2024, and beyond. The levy passed in November of 2022.
Post 2022 levy, the Administration created 2 community groups: The Long Term Financial Planning Group and the State Funding Advocacy Group. Results are posted above.
Board Discussions from 2021-2022 School Year
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4/19/2022 - Discussion #1 -Current Events (video)
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5/10/2022 - Discussion #2 - Revenues & Expenditures (video)
- 5/17/2022 - Cost Reductions & Levy Scenarios (video)
- 6/6/2022 - Potential Levy (video)
- 7/12/2022 - 2022 Operating Levy (video - presentation begins at 48:03)
- 10/10/2022 - 2022 Operating Levy Impact - (Video)
Board Discussions from 2020-2021 School Year
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11/10/2020 - Discussion #1 - Students & Budgeting, enrollment, increase in property values, and lack of state aid.
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11/17/2020 - Discussion #2 - Class size & space, expenditures.
-
12/8/2020 - Discussion #3 - Non-staff spending
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1/12/2021 - Discussion #4 - Transportation, staffing costs.
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1/19/2021 - Discussion #5 - Staffing costs, cont., next steps
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2/16/2021 - Discussion #6 - Transportation Tiers
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3/9/2021 - Potential Levy Scenarios
Financial Stability Discussion Powerpoint Slideshow 2020-2021
