MANSFIELD — Mansfield City Schools Treasurer Tacy Courtright said the district’s finances are improving, in part due to the most recent biennial state budget.
Courtright presented the district’s November five-year forecast during a meeting earlier this month.
Public school treasurers are required by the state to submit two five-year forecasts a year.
These forecasts provide an overview of the district’s general fund, which is used to pay operating expenses.
Treasurers often caution that forecasts provide a projection, but not a guarantee, of a district’s financial future.
In Ohio, public school districts get a large chunk of funding from the state government, which updates its budget every two years. Districts’ “foundation payments” go towards the general operating fund.
Ohio’s most recent budget took effect July 4. Legislators chose to continue “phasing in” the Fair School Funding Plan, an updated formula for funding schools that made its debut in 2021.
That meant a $2 million bump for Mansfield City Schools this fiscal year.
Deficit appears to be shrinking
The district continues to operate in deficit spending, but the margins have narrowed since the last five-year forecast presented in May.
Courtright projected an operating deficit of $3,766,255 in fiscal year 2024 (July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024), but said the actual deficit will likely be about $1.7 million less.
At the time of the meeting, Courtright had requested permission from the state to reclassify certain personnel expenses so that the district could pay for them with COVID-19 relief funds.
Those COVID-19 relief funds have to be expended by the end of the fiscal year.
Courtright told Richland Source Monday the reclassification wasn’t factored into the five-year forecast, but the district has since received permission from the state to use about $2 million in COVID-19 funds for salaries this school year.
The remaining amount, approximately $300,000, will go towards “supporting the district’s master plan.”
“We are in the final stages of the plan and will be presenting this during our January board meeting,” Courtright said. “We are still anticipating a deficit, but are working to restructure which will help the district be a stronger district overall.”
Courtright projected smaller operating deficits in the years to come — $831,003 in FY25 and $203,179 in FY26.
Courtright projected larger deficits in fiscal years 2027 and 2028, along with relatively “flat funding” from the state.
Courtrigth said the district is continuing its work to reduce the deficit.
“We are working on additional options for our health insurance and still cutting non-salary costs where we can to help the district,” Courtright said.
“We have made changes and are working to utilize our funds to the maximum. But definitely having additional funds from our foundation payments will help us and we hope that the legislature continues to support public education.”
Where does revenue come from and how is it spent?
Courtright also shared a breakdown of the district’s revenue sources and spending.
For fiscal year 2024, state funds will make up 63.87 percent of the district’s $52.3 million general fund revenues.
Of the remaining 36.13 percent, 28.4 percent of the district’s revenue comes from real estate taxes and 5 percent comes from public utility taxes.
According to Courtright, federal funds are not included as part of the general fund and mainly come in the form of reimbursements.
The district’s projected general fund expenditures for fiscal year 2024 total $53,173,875.
Employment costs make up the largest portion of expenditures. Wages make up just over half (50.8 percent) of projected district spending; benefits make up another 28.6 percent.
All told, wages and benefits make up 79.4 percent of the budget, which is Courtright said is less than the state average of 81.4 percent.
Part of the reason is that the district has been using COVID-19 relief funds, which aren’t included in the forecast and will be expended by the end of the fiscal year, to cover some staffing costs.
“The wages and benefits (percentage) will increase next year when those staff are returned to the general fund,” Courtright said.
The remaining shares of projected expenses include purchased services (13.7 percent), materials (3 percent), capital (1.6 percent) and other (1.8 percent).
Rizzo, Fletcher share update on district goals
Chief Academic Officer Stephen Rizzo gave an update on the district’s work to improve literacy.
Rizzo told board members the district has but into place instructional materials for English Language Arts standards in grades PreK-12.
Those materials include explicit phonemic awareness and phonics instruction, both components of the science of reading.
The district has also revisited its reading curriculum for students that need more help, adding curriculums like Fundations K-3, Just Words 4-12 and the Wilson Reading System.
The district is also using a new diagnostic assessment and added a dyslexia screener.
Teachers are receiving ongoing professional development for literacy, including dyslexia training.
Early literacy continues to be a challenge for schools across the state. Rizzo said one factor is that many students don’t attend preschool and may come into kindergarten with fewer literacy skills as a result.
Rizzo showed data from the Ohio Department of Education, which designates incoming kindergarteners as “on-track” or “not-on-track” based on an assessment at the beginning of the year.
Countywide, 58.5 percent of kindergarten students were not on-track at the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year. In Mansfield City, 72 percent of students weren’t on track.
While the district received one out of five stars for early literacy in its most recent state report card, Rizzo said there is evidence students are improving.
Ohio State Test data showed that students in 4th, 5th, 6th and 8th grade all met or exceeded expectations for growth.
Director of College and Career Readiness Nikia Fletcher offered an update on efforts to get high school students across the finish line.
Those efforts include offering new courses and electives that support student interests and meet graduation requirements and a new partnership with the Ohio State University in Mansfield to offer College Credit Plus courses inside Mansfield Senior High school.
The school also has a program for monitoring at-risk students. Students check in regularly with a designated staff member, who checks on their grades, attendance and general well-being.
Fletcher said some students are also taking advantage of opportunities to earn high school credit through work-based learning experiences.
Through options like job site placements, apprenticeships and internships, students can earn credit if they work 250 over the course of their high school years.
