No questions. No discussion.  Sent to vote.

Treasurer Schumacher reported as follows:

We have been very busy.  The audit should be complete the last week of November.  So far, we have no findings.  I have completed the five-year forecast for November submission.  We had a Workers compensation audit with an overpayment finding.  We had included a couple of independent contractors that did not need to be included in our total amount.

Besides all of this going on, the monthly work was pretty normal.  We now have an ACH account set up with Star Ohio, but I am still working on getting the State to change their deposits from PNC to Star Ohio.  Actually, I think I mentioned last month that NCOCC was having trouble getting their payments switched to their new account.  We still received some of their payments in October.  It looks as though they are trying to draw those payments back out of our account now.  We will see what happens.

The auditors have questioned amounts in some of the accounts we have including the Permanent Improvement (003), Facilities Maintenance (034) and the Capital Projects (070).  They said that 003 is usually not funded from the General Fund and I told them we have a very difficult time passing a levy in 14 school districts and this is the way we have always funded our 003.  I explained that the 034 is large because of the large amount we are required to deposit annually.  This fund is based on valuation and our entire valuation is very large in 14 school districts.  Normally, a school district in this area would have about a $100,000 deposit requirement.  Finally, they stated that the 070 fund is to be spent out in 10 years.  I explained to them that this money had been transferred to this account for the project.  We used what was left to make the 034 transfer until we reached about $400,000 and then started making the 034 transfer out of the general fund because we felt we might need the remainder of those 070 funds to complete the renovation project.  I also explained that due to the lawsuit, we have had to and are still using that fund to pay lawyer’s fees.  I assured them that as soon as this project is finished, everything will be taken care of in the 070 account.

All is well in the monthly general fund account and the only journal entry we have is the entry to correct some Emergency Connectivity expenses and receipts and place them in a 599 fund instead of the General Fund.

Five-year forecast –

We have 4 main topics affecting our five-year forecast. 

1. Of course, the fact that we collect taxes in eight different counties is always a challenge.  We have eight counties in three different reappraisal cycles.  So, it is always a challenge to determine increase and decrease in values.  At this point, we do not have any significant changes to affect real estate tax appraisals.

2. Rover pipeline is still unsettled.  Taxing authorities billed Rover based on the valuation established by the Ohio Department of Taxation.  Rover’s first appeal to lower the valuation by 47% was denied.  Rover has made payments based on the appealed valuation, which in tax year 2020 was approximately $90 million lower than the value established by the Ohio Department of Taxation. Since the pipeline began making payments based on the decreased valuation in FY20, the school district has received approximately $790 thousand less than billed. Rover has submitted a second appeal requesting values to be decreased by 38%, and the forecast assumes their appeal is won and the district only receives the lower 38% valuation. The appeal was scheduled to be heard by the Bureau of Tax Appeals beginning on May 9, 2022, and then again in August, 2022, but has been continued, and has not been remanded back to the Tax Commissioner. If the appeal is denied, the district will receive delinquent tax payments for the amounts owed by Rover. Due to the uncertainty surrounding the appellate decision, this is not assumed in the calculations of this forecast at this time.

3. The Fair School Funding Plan is also still a challenge as we are uncertain of the extent of funding to be received from the Plan.  The plan has only been funded through FY23 and we are waiting to see what the new biennial budget brings in June of 2023.

4. Negotiations will begin again in the Spring of 2024.  This is always a challenge in itself.

The first graph shows the lines of the cash balance, revenues and expenditures presented in the five year forecast.  Remember, that this forecast is based on the uncertainties of Rover Pipeline, Fair School Funding Plan and negotiations.  If you look back on the five-year forecast, line 2.08 shows the revenues, line 4.5 shows the expenditures and line 7.02 shows the cash balance as of June 30 each year.

Then we jump into the revenues.  State sources provide 63% of our total revenues.  Local sources provide 37%.  We have projected FY23 State funding on the October 2022 foundation settlement and funding factors.  In other words, this is based on the most current information we have.

We estimate tax levies to be collected at 97% of the annual amount.  This is based on historical data. 

Go to next slide – Review

Next, we have the Expenditures.  We use 83.5% of our expenditures for Salaries and benefits.  This is not out of line for the norm.  Salaries and benefits usually range from 80 to 85% in school districts.  We have provided for a base increase of 2% in FY23, 2.25% in FY24 and 2% in FY25-27.  This line amount also includes an average 3% step increase.  I believe in upcoming forecasts this step increase will grow due to the large staff turnover in the past couple and a few future years. The average step increase is above 4%. The insurance projections include the 3.6% increase for FY23 and 8% for FY24-27.

For purchased services and Materials and Supplies, we have provided for a 5% increase in these costs for FY23-25 and a 3% increase in these costs for FY26-27.

This last slide shows the ending cash balance in days that we could operate without additional resources or a severe resource interruption. The GFOA recommends no less than 60 days.  I am not comfortable with only 60 days. This graph shows in FY27 we could be operating with 157 days of true cash.  This is not even a full school year.  In understand this is only a forecast and things change often, but I wanted to point this out because we have always had at least a full school year of true cash balance                                                                      

Superintendent Nickoli recognized Mr. Vargyas and 3 ECE students and those accompanying the students.

Justin Tuttle

None

None

Director Frye reported on the following school activities:

Veteran’s Day Assemblies @PCTC

PCTC Students at Ontario HS presenting the colors

Student Leadership  -  Mid-Ohio Student Leadership Conference

FCCLA Rally

Mansfield Rotary Club

SkillsUSA Fall Leadership

Thanksgiving Feast for Students and Staff Served by Office Staff for all students and staff

Sophomore Recruitment -

By December 1st, Pioneer school counselors will speak with all 14 associate schools current sophomores

Community Involvement-

Early Childcare/Pre-School

Performing Arts

CU Lead

Business and Industry visit to expand PCTC partnerships

ECE students presented Highlights and Upcoming events in the ECE lab.

Mr. Grady spoke about the OSBA Capital Conference and how the delegate meeting operates.

Superintendent Nickoli reported as follows:

A Records Commission Meeting was held prior to the Board of Education Meeting Monday evening starting at 6:30 pm.  The persons scheduled to attend were Doug Theaker, Board President; Greg Nickoli, Superintendent; Linda Schumacher, Treasurer; and Kara Rowlinson, Assistant Treasurer.  We reviewed the records that are outdated and can be destroyed.

A Finance Committee Meeting was held at 6:45 pm prior to the Board of Education Meeting.  At this meeting we reviewed the five (5) year forecast.  The persons scheduled to attend are:  Doug Theaker, Board President; Margie Prater, Board Member; Bill Hope, Board Member, Greg Nickoli, Superintendent; and Linda Schumacher, Treasurer.

In an effort to attract and retain more substitute teachers, I am recommending that we raise the substitute teacher pay from $115 per day to $130 per day at the December Board Meeting, effective when we start our second semester on January 3^rd.  That will make our sub pay the second highest among area Districts. 

As in past years, I am suggesting that we move our January Organizational and the regular January meeting to a date near the middle of the month.  Last year, we opted to move the meetings to January 12^th.  I’d suggest we move this year’s January meeting to January 11^th.  Please check your calendars so we can decide on the best date for the organizational meeting at our regular December meeting.

Our Social Studies Department and several programs did an excellent job remembering our veterans the week of Veterans Day.  A week ago this past Friday, Mr. Adam Galley organized an outstanding event.  I am proud to report that our students were not only well-behaved but also showed great reverence for the service of our Veterans.  Thank you to Mr. Theaker and Mr. Prater for attending and speaking to our students during the event.

11/22 – Thanksgiving Luncheon for Students

12/19 – Board Holiday Dinner provided by Culinary Arts Students

12/21 – Holiday Open House

All personnel recommendations are common for this time of year. 

No questions. No discussion.  Sent to vote.

No questions. No discussion.  Sent to vote.

Entered into Executive Session at 8:06 pm.  Returned to Regular Session at 8:17 pm.