A6
Indian Hill Journal
News
September 17, 2009
Indian Hill Board Office 6855 Drake Road, Cincinnati, OH 45243 (513) 272-4500 • (Fax) 272-4512 http://www.ih.k12.oh.us
NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION
Dear Residents of the Indian Hill Exempted Village School District, The Indian Hill School District’s future budgets will be affected by changes in state laws on school funding and falling real estate values. To solidify our future financial position, the Indian Hill School Board is considering designating 1.25 inside mills for the specific purpose of funding permanent improvements. Designating 1.25 mills for this purpose would add $1.7 million to the School’s annual revenue, at today’s real estate valuations. The additional funding will become available to the School District in 2011. The leadership of the Indian Hill School District has worked diligently for many years to make sure our students get a world-class education. Our Schools are a hallmark of our community and an important consideration for people choosing to move into our community. The community has been supportive of the School District for several generations – financially, philosophically and by its presence at athletic, arts and other educational events held throughout the year in the schools. We recently discussed the School District’s finances in a Financial Forum for the community. A detailed overview of that discussion can be found on the School District’s web site http://www.ih.k12. oh.us, under the “Finance” section, heading “Reports”. The School District receives revenue from several sources – real estate taxes, tax increment financing agreements, tangible property taxes, interest income and funding from the State of Ohio. The School District’s total General Fund revenue from all sources for the school year ended June 30, 2009 was $31.7 million. Total expenditures, including capital items, were $30.1 million.
AMANDA HOPKINS/STAFF
Christian Salzmann, a junior at Madeira High School, painted the United States of America on the playground at Madeira Elementary School as part of his large project to earn the Eagle Scout Award.
Approximately 88% of the School District’s annual funding comes from taxes on local real estate, including rollback and homestead reimbursements from the State of Ohio, and tax increment financing revenue from several commercial properties including Kenwood Towne Center. The recent decline in real estate values and recent Ohio legislation with respect to school funding will most likely have an adverse effect on the School District’s funding in the near and long-term future.
Eagle Scout livens up elementary playground
The Indian Hill School District has operated at the 20 mill floor, the lowest millage allowable by law in the State of Ohio, for more than 10 years. By operating at 20 mills, the School District’s revenues increased in direct proportion to property value increases. For planning and budgeting purposes, we are assuming that, on the whole, the change in property valuations in the next major reassessment in 2011 will be zero at best, and may be negative. This means that the change in revenues from real estate taxes would be zero, with a good probability that we could experience a decrease in revenue.
By Amanda Hopkins
The State of Ohio provides the Indian Hill School District with approximately 16% of its revenue in the form of: • Real estate tax rollback and homestead reimbursements - $2.6 million (part of the 88% of total revenue previously mentioned); • Tangible property tax reimbursement (in 2010, tangible property taxes will have been completely phased out) - $1.4 million; • State Foundation funding – $1.1 million; and • State grants - $350,000
ahopkins@communitypress.com
Christian Salzmann is one step closer to earning the rank of Eagle Scout after the completion of his service project. The Madeira High School junior completed painting the map of the United States of America on the Madeira Elementary School playground. He had help from members of his Boy Scout Troop 209 and from both of his parents, Joanne and Chuck Salzmann and his brother, Stefan Salzmann. Christian said he chose the painting as his service project after hearing from different members of the community that the original map was a little plain. He said that before the painting, the map was just a simple dotted outline of the United States. In his plans,
Recently, new legislation was signed into law in the State of Ohio that will affect the funding and operations of all school districts in Ohio. For the Indian Hill School District, the final version of House Bill 1 (“HB 1”) and the State’s biennium budget contain some good news, bad news, and quite a few unknowns. The good news is that the first year of the biennium reduces our State Foundation revenue by only 1%; the second year of the budget comes with a 2% reduction of the 2009 -2010 allocation. Given the economic landscape and words of caution from the State about further revisions to the State’s budget, we believe we should be prepared for more significant adverse changes in funding available from the State of Ohio for our School District. A new school funding formula in HB 1 is expected to eliminate state funding for high wealth districts such as ours. The new formula creates what is to be known as the Education Challenge Factor (ECF) that addresses differences among districts in concentration of poverty, property/income wealth, and college attainment level of the community. Given these factors, the Indian Hill School District would lose annual funding from the State of approximately $400,000. HB 1 also contains a change in the reimbursement formula for transportation services. We have not yet seen what the specific changes will be; at risk could be the nearly $600,000 in additional state funding that we currently receive annually. Tangible Personal Property (“TPP”) Taxes are scheduled to be phased out to zero by 2010. The State of Ohio has been reimbursing school districts for the loss of this revenue. The TPP tax replacement payments have been extended one year longer than previously required by law – through 2013. If there is no change in the law before FY 2014, the original phase-down schedule for replacement payments will be resumed with all TPP replacements eliminated in 2018. Currently, we receive annual tangible personal property taxes or reimbursements of approximately $1.4 million. For the past two decades, the School District has managed the financial resources provided by the community in a careful and prudent manner. The District has: • Operated with a surplus operating budget for 15 of the last 18 years; • Built and renovated its buildings and grounds with the help of a $49.7 million bond issue approved by the voters of the School District in 2000; • Built a cash reserve rainy day fund of approximately $23 million.
Christian and other members of his troop worked out the map to include six colors with no bordering states having the same color. He said he hopes that the colorful map will help teachers make geography lessons more exciting for the students. Chuck Salzmann said he has been very proud of his son while watching him organize and lead the project. “He has really been able to demonstrate leadership,” Chucksaid. Besides being an active member of Boy Scouts, Christian also runs cross country and track and is involved in Latin Club. Before earning the Eagle Scout rank, Christian still has to serve in a leadership role in his troop for six months and complete and Eagle Scout Board of Review.
Requirements for Eagle Scout Rank
• Be active in your troop for a period of at least six months after you have achieved the rank of Life Scout • Demonstrate that you live by the principle of the Scout Oath and Law in your daily life • Earn a total of 21 merit badges (12 of these merit badges must be Eagle required) • While a Life Scout, serve actively for a period of six months in one or more of specific positions of responsibility • While a Life Scout, plan, develop and give leadership to others in a service project helpful to any religious institution, any school or your community • Take part in a Scoutmaster conference • Successfully complete an Eagle Scout board of review
The School District’s leadership believes that the net effect over time of the new legislation will be to reduce the District’s annual revenues by up to $2.4 million. Combined with a potential reduction in funding from real estate taxes, our cash reserves, which seem large today, would be dissipated in less than 10 years. From an expense point of view, the School District’s fastest growing expense line is health care. Although teachers and staff now contribute 15% of the premiums for health care (up from 0% only 10 years ago), overall premiums have been increasing at a high, and in some years, alarming rate. The School District shops for health insurance annually, but premiums continue to increase rapidly. For the school year that ended on June 30, 2009, the School District reduced its expenditures on non-personnel related costs and capital items by 8.7% from the prior year. These reductions were made possible by the efforts of principals, teachers, maintenance staff and the non-teaching staff of the School District, under the direction of the Superintendent, to be careful and frugal without affecting the educational experience for students. As an example, many capital projects that previously might have been contracted out to third-party vendors were executed by the School District’s maintenance staff. We believe the future funding gaps can be addressed partially through: • Aggressive cost management of outlays for purchased services, supplies, materials and textbooks. The School District’s highest priority is always to provide the very best possible education for each student. We do everything possible to ensure that funding provided by taxpayers is spent carefully. • The designation of a portion of the inside millage available to the School District for permanent improvements. Designating 1.25 mills for permanent improvements will have the effect of increasing the School District’s funding by approximately $1.7 million annually. These funds can only be used to fund specific types of purchases, such as building and grounds improvements, computers, textbooks, and school buses. These types of items currently amount to approximately $1.3 million annually. If the Board passes a resolution to designate 1.25 inside mills for permanent improvements, revenue from such a designation will not be available until 2011. • The use of our cash reserves to make up the difference between available funding and expenditures. Our goal has been to build up the equivalent of one year’s worth of revenues in our reserve funds. At the end of the most recent school year ending June 30, 2009, our reserves amounted to approximately 68% of one year’s total revenue.
PROVIDED
Many people helped Christian Salzmann, center, with his Eagle Scout project of painting the United States map at Madeira Elementary School. From left: Stefan Salzmann, Evan Jenkins, Daniel Corgan, Ted Corgan, Christian Salzmann, Chuck Salzmann, Dr. Bob Corgan, Kyle Jenkins and Matt Malone. Brandon Brooks, Daniel Puterbaugh and Joanne Salzmann also worked on this project, but are not pictured.
Tickets now available for RetroFittings
At some point in the future, the Indian Hill School District may have to ask voters to approve an operating levy for additional funding. By taking the actions described above, in the context of the changes in state funding that we anticipate, we believe we can postpone asking voters for more funding for several years. The Board will conduct a hearing and information session on the designation of inside millage for permanent improvements on November 10, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. in the multipurpose room in the High School. We welcome all community members to the meeting, and we will be happy to answer any and all questions on our operations, as well as the designation of inside millage to make up for some of the expected loss of revenue from the State of Ohio. If anyone in the community is interested in discussing this issue with the School Board, please contact any of us. Our telephone numbers are listed on the School District’s website. Indian Hill Board of Education:
Barbara Hopewell, President
Timothy Sharp, Vice President
Molly Barber, Member
Elizabeth Johnston, Member
0000357158
Ted Jaroszewicz, Member
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul in partnership with the University of Cincinnati Fashion Program in the College of Design, Architecture, Art & Planning (DAAP) are presenting the seventh annual St. Vincent de Paul RetroFittings event. The organization’s signature fundraiser will be held Thursday, Oct. 8. The event features new fashion creations by the UC Fashion Program School of Design students using items found exclusively at St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Stores. The students from the UC Fashion Program were provided with a $10 budget to create cutting-edge fashions by combining a variety of items found at St. Vincent
de Paul Thrift Stores, including, clothes, curtains, bed sheets and tablecloths. The fashions will be modeled during a professional-style runway show. New to the 2009 event will be a designer trunk show, following the fashion show. Other highlights include a live auction, raffle, music, light fare and a cash bar. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m.; event begins at 7:30 p.m. at the 20th Century Theatre in Oakley Square. Valet parking is available. Tickets for RetroFittings are $30 in advance; $15 for student tickets; $60 for VIP tickets which includes reserved seating and two drink tickets. Patron tickets are also
available for $100 and include reserved seating, two drink tickets and acknowledgment in the program. All tickets are available online now at www.svdpcincinnati.org or by calling 562-8841, ext. 225. Tickets are limited, but will be offered at the door for $40 if available. The RetroFittings committee members are Kendra Bach of Anderson Township, Mary Casella of Downtown, Susan Debrul of Hyde Park, Debbie Goldstein of Hyde Park, Tina Hawking of Mount Lookout, Barb Rinehart of Anderson Township, Kathleen Stutz of Hyde Park, Meg Tarvin of Anderson Township and Gwen Triplett of Ryland, Ky.