Kings Will Not Be on the Ballot in November
The Kings Local School District Board of Education met on Tuesday, July 13, 2021. During their meeting, Kings Treasurer, Cary Furniss updated the Board on District finances, the impact of House Bill 110, the new State budget, and the Triennial Update of property values.
Mr. Furniss has been educating the Board and community since last fall regarding the financial details of the District. In his discussions, this Spring, three variables were identified in evaluating the five-year forecast and the need for a November 2021 Operating Levy. Those variables include the cost of returning to school in 2021-2022, the District employee health insurance renewal, and the impact of the State budget.
Recently, Governor DeWine signed House Bill 110 that provides a new school funding formula, mostly based on the Fair School Funding Model, also known as Cupp Patterson. In the short term (FY 22 & 23), the new model provides modest increases in new revenue for Kings.
The significant change with the new formula will occur with transfers. Legislation in the past 2 budgets allowed Kings’ state dollars to be transferred for students living in Kings but attending community schools, as well as Jon Peterson and Autism Scholarship schools. Those transfers cost the District $1.2 million dollars annually. The Fair School Funding Model will now directly compensate those schools, saving the District that cost.
It’s too early to tell the long-term impact of the new formula until calculations are released (late July) and enrollment, property values, and personal income data for Kings are updated. The complete impact of the State budget won’t be known until Fall 2021. The impact of the new budget doesn’t change the trend of Kings spending down its cash reserves but does slow that process. The District is projecting that cash reserves will be exhausted in late 2023, which is an improvement from the May five-year forecast.
As a result, Mr. Furniss recommended NOT placing an Operating Levy on the ballot in November and the Board accepted his recommendation. While this is good news for the District and its taxpayers, the underlying financial trend has not changed. Kings will continue to receive the majority of its revenue from local taxpayers in the new funding model and an operating levy will be needed at some point in the future to fund the operating expenses of the District. The Board will continue to closely monitor finances and the forecast as they move into the Fall and will update the community on the State budget and property values as more information becomes available.
We will keep you updated on any significant changes. The Kings Board of Education meets twice monthly in the Kings Education Center. Meetings are live-streamed on the Kings Youtube channel if you would like to keep informed about the Kings Local School District.
