AC-WH Career Center discusses finances
Ashland County-West Holmes Career Center’s financial picture will be flat for the next five years because of uncertainties about the economy and state funding, treasurer Julie Smith said to the AC-WH Board of Education before it approved the annual state-required five-year financial forecast at its regular meeting on Nov. 19.
Smith started her financial review with a look at changes between this year and 2021 projections. Estimated revenue from real-estate taxes will be up just over $88,000 next year, based on the results of property reappraisals from a number of area counties that show values up 16.4%.
Revenue from public utilities is projected to be down $85,670 in 2021 because of an appeal of the taxable value of the Rover pipeline, which will be heard in May. Smith said a decision is not expected for some time, and if the decision is not favorable to Rover, the company is expected to appeal to the Court of Appeals or Ohio Supreme Court.
“They’re only paying on the undisputed portion of their taxes,” Smith said. “It could be two years before a final decision.”
Regarding state funding, Smith said she removed a 5% reduction previously forecasted for 2021, which returned the 2021 projected funding to what was received in 2020. Other factors include a new biennial state budget in 2022 and the possibility of a new school-funding formula.
On the expense side, Smith told the board salaries and benefits will be down about $200,000 because the Ashland County Community Academy was closed and four career center staff members retired. Purchased services will drop $56,707 while supplies will be up “significantly” because of things that needed to be purchased to keep students and staff “operational” and in the building due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Smith said this included an extra cost for buying extra Chrome Books for students because of delivery problems this year.
Officials plan to spend an additional $90,000 so the computers can be delivered to the school at the end of the current school year for distribution for the following year. Other added expenses include new software and equipment, furniture, and supplies to help with social distancing and distance learning.
Following an executive session, the career center board approved a one-year contract with the Ashland Vocational Teachers’ Association, retroactive to Aug. 1, which calls for a 1.5% pay raise and several language changes. Negotiations started in late February and were slowed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ashland City School District representative Brian Lefelhoc thought the negotiations went well and thanked everyone for the work they did through the process. “I want to thank our administrative team. It was extremely professional and pro community — what’s right and what’s best for the district,” he said. “I also want to commend the teachers and their representatives. There was some change, and they kept promoting what’s important for them to teach well and provide good service.”
During associate school reports, board members reported on the COVID-19 status for their districts. Loudonville-Perrysville School District representative Dave Hunter reported high school students will do remote learning for the next several weeks because of a teacher shortage caused by the pandemic.
“We’ve had a lot of teachers quarantined here recently, so we wanted to keep the lower grades open, so we’re shutting down the high school and making it remote so we can shuffle people around a little bit,” Hunter said.
West Holmes School District representative Tina Zickefoose also said her district will do remote learning because teachers are “dropping like flies” with the illness. Jim Barger from the Tri-County Educational Service Center reported three preschool teachers, two assistants and two classes have been quarantined while Ashland City Schools representative Brandon Wells said officials are still working with the teachers’ union on pay for remote learning.
Career center superintendent Rod Cheyney told the board only one staff member and two students have tested positive for the coronavirus. He also said he can’t commend parents enough for not sending their children to school if they don’t feel well, adding it has been a community effort.
Cheyney also thanked the home school districts for allowing their students to attend the career center’s recent modified sophomore visitation. He said Ashland-West Holmes was one of only a “handful” of career centers around the state where home schools allowed their students to go to their sophomore visitations.
The career center visitation program hosted students from just one member school district on each visitation day to see their top-three programs and school facilities.
In other business the career center board hired Jacob Donelson as the new automotive technology instructor to replace Jon Burkholder, who retired last month. “He’s been in this week working with the students, and I think he’s going to do a great job,” Cheyney said.