Little Miami Local Schools is committed to fiscal stewardship while fulfilling its central mission of providing an excellent education to the district's children.
That's why the Board of Education has been proactive in helping alleviate the tax burden on homeowners and has approved a plan of finance to stretch the budget, keep within the five-year forecast and stay off the ballot longer.
"Our goal has been to look at creative options to stretch our operating budget and to keep Little Miami Schools off the ballot longer, even though we are experiencing historically high student population growth in a slowing economy," said Superintendent Dan Bennett.
These measures have included discontinuing collection of the emergency operating levy, implementing a new high-deductible health insurance plan for teachers and restructuring transportation to reduce expenditures and operate at a constant rate.
Levy Measures
The board approved measures to rollback the emergency operating levy one year early, collected at 4.5 mills in 2006, and to convert 3 inside mills for permanent improvements.
The purpose of moving the 3 mills was to continue to account for expenditures such as roofs, pavement, buses, technology and other facility maintenance in the permanent improvement fund. The district's permanent improvement levy, which expired in 2005, provided dollars for the purchase and maintenance of assets with at least a 5-year useful life.
By rolling back the operating levy, the district is operating at the 20-mill minimum tax rate allowed in Ohio to qualify for State funding and at the lowest rate historically for the district. In return, Little Miami is receiving 3 mills of funding from the state. This means the district is collecting operating money from the state instead of through a local property tax.
"We believe the community will appreciate our efforts at increasing state aid by about $8 million over the next three years. This is money our local taxpayers would otherwise pay," explained Treasurer Robert Giuffre.
"While the district is committed to continuing conversations with Columbus about school funding change, this is a rare opportunity for us to take matters into our own hands and look out for the best interests of our taxpayers."
The board also implemented this measure to minimize the impact of reappraisal on district taxpayers, which hits the tax duplicate this year. A $100,000 homeowner would save approximately $50 a year on their school taxes prior to reappraisal. Additionally, the district anticipates this finance plan keeping the district off the ballot for operating dollars until 2009 — two years longer than planned.
When district officials developed the bond issue plan, they were able to minimize the impact on taxpayers. Steady growth in recent years and the number of approved new housing permits meant the district was able to include future growth into the financing. By averaging payments over the life of the loan, future residents will share equally in the cost with current residents.
Current estimates for real estate valuation from the county show the district is right on target with their own growth estimates. Since 2006, the district's value grew from $625 million to $759 million. This means the district's promise to the community is off to an extremely accurate start.
Teacher Support
The Little Miami Teachers Association demonstrated support of the board's plan of finance by ratifying a new three-year contract.
"The teachers were the real heroes in these negotiations," said Mr. Bennett. "This contract truly demonstrates their commitment to helping the district stay off the ballot longer."
The teachers and the board developed an innovative plan that includes major restructuring of health care coverage and salaries.
"One of our biggest challenges coming into negotiations was skyrocketing healthcare costs," said Mr. Giuffre. "Our current healthcare plan rates were increasing 21 percent. Our teachers were incredible in accepting a new plan that offsets this tremendous cost to the operating budget and actually reduced premiums by 39 percent. Because our teachers are so invested in what is best for the students of Little Miami, the district can stay off the ballot after the current levy expires."
"This is a very tough economic environment for schools in Ohio. In order for districts to be successful, the teachers, administrators, board members and community must work together," added Mr. Bennett. "I hope our community recognizes and applauds the sacrifice Little Miami teachers have made in order for this district and our students to be successful."
Transportation
The redesign of transportation services is improving safety and efficiency. Overcrowded schools meant overcrowded buses on the old two-tier system. The district was challenged with a lack of drivers, an aging fleet and minimal resources to expand the fleet to meet the growing enrollment.
The new three-tier system eases overcrowding on routes with room to grow; separates intermediate school students from high school students; uses the current fleet more efficiently; and provides an easier transition with transporting students to the new buildings. The district also consolidated bus stops.
This system has had a significant positive financial impact on the district. For example, expenditures have been reduced by an estimated $400,000-$500,000 by reducing mileage by 100 miles a day and by not purchasing as many additional buses.
Financial Accolades
This year marks the third consecutive year that the district has received awards for excellence in financial reporting from both the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada and the Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO).
The district also was honored for excellence in the preparation and issuance of a high-quality Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for 2004 and 2005 by Auditor of State, Betty Montgomery. The prestigious financial reporting awards are only conferred to school systems whose financial operations have met or exceeded rigorous standards established by these professional organizations.
"We participate in these programs to be compared nationally to government entities and continue to grow and learn Best Practices, which constantly change," said Mr. Giuffre. "Attaining these awards of excellence brings confidence that our financial reporting is at the peak of industry standards and assures credibility not only to the community, but also to those across the country investing in our bonds."
