Permanent Improvement and Operating Levy Money

Permanent Improvement and Operating dollars

You are about to pay your property taxes. Or at least we hope you are. They are due March 7. Again in August. Many folks choose to pay the full amount at this time and that actually helps the cash flow for schools. In fact, we budget for that flow based on previous years' experience. A change of 1 or 2 percent in the number of people making this choice is noticeable.
Last May voters approved to continue payments toward Permanent Improvements (PI) for the schools. The former levy expired December 2007. Serious problems for the upkeep of schools and purchases of items with life spans of five years or more would have followed if not for renewing that levy. Thank you.
We received the first dollars of those approved funds Feb. 15. We will be as cautious with that money as the folks who paid it. We will deploy it wisely with the long term in mind.
We committed $163,878 at December’s meeting to purchase two buses -- one handicap equipped. Of that commitment, $124,400 was from the new PI money you approved. Thank you.
Additional funds will be used to update some of our computer infrastructure which is woefully behind the times. Our computer folks have been doing so much with so little for so long they are now qualified to do almost anything with practically nothing. It's not a good strategy for the future to continue on such a path. It shortchanges students and handicaps the business side of school operations.
As it becomes clear what the long term vision for the district holds, it will become easier to make commitments of the long term funds. They cannot, by law, be used for any short term expenses and will be invested until needed for specific projects.
The other funds approved for continuation last spring were Operating Funds. Again, had the voters not chosen to continue the expiring monies your district would already have been in serious problems this year.
The entire school budget along with our five-year budget projection is available at the following web site. http://fyf.oecn.k12.oh.us/fyforecast/ViewForecast/district.asp?IRN=44321
Substantially no NEW money has been approved for Marietta schools since 1992. The funds coming from the state have been basically the same for over 10 years. The only increase in dollars received came from increases in property values over time. (Refinancing former debt saved over a quarter million dollars and we earned some interest in invested funds along the way. Each levy renewal yielded a small increase owing to the formula used to calculate the renewal.) That’s about it.
Based on long experience, this year’s income projections for our 5 year budget included an Agriculture/Residential property value increase of 12% and projected an increase in Commercial property value of 6%.
The reality is that the numbers gave less than 9% increase in the Agriculture/Residential value and 0% in Commercial property. Disappointing to say the least, and part of our challenge in the immediate future.
The actual bottom line is we projected an increase of $197,000 new dollars and actually experienced an increase of $45,000. That’s a difference of $152,000 LOSS to our budget projections.
The Board of Education is responsible for establishing policies that assure the district is operating effectively and not in debt. The board is held responsible when financial woes are encountered. This board takes that charge very seriously. Hence our current labors to seek savings in all areas.
This and other articles will appear on http://mariettacityschoolboardblogspotcom. Also included will be the above mentioned link where you may find our budget.