Office of the Treasurer

Olentangy Cost Savings and Budget Reductions
Frequently Asked Questions

Q. I’m hearing that Olentangy Local Schools lost some revenue, what is going on?
Olentangy Local Schools lost $12.7 million in anticipated revenue by Fiscal Year (FY) 11 (2010-11 school year) due to changes in the state funding system. These changes were part of the state’s biennium budget that was approved as House Bill 1 in July 2009.
Q. How has a loss in revenue impacted the district?
Olentangy Local Schools is currently projecting a $10 million deficit in FY 11 due to a $4.7 million loss in anticipated revenue in FY 10 and $8 million loss in anticipated revenue in FY 11. The district’s administration is working to adjust projected expenditures to better match this revenue loss. The district will continue to “live within our means” and honor the commitment to the community to not be on the ballot until 2011.
Q. The community approved 7.9 mills of operating money for the district in March 2008, what happened to this money?
This money will still be collected and Olentangy Local Schools greatly appreciates the community’s support. However, the district receives 7.64 percent of the general fund budget from the state level. When the 2008 request was made, the district was assuming that although Governor Strickland was promising to overhaul the school funding system, that these changes would at least keep Olentangy at the same level as the previous system. Under that system, Olentangy would have seen a significant increase in state funding during FY 10 (2009-10 school year) that would have grown with the district’s tremendous student population. When House Bill 1 was approved in July 2009, it changed the way school funding was calculated, does not take Olentangy’s student growth factor into consideration and decreased Olentangy’s anticipated revenue for the 2009-10 and 2010-11 school years.
Q. What about the district’s promise to not be on the ballot until 2011?
The district will continue to honor this commitment! During the 2009-10 school year, Olentangy Local Schools has already cut 51.5 full-time positions from the next four years of the five-year financial forecast. This move will save the district $7,055,853 over the next four years of the five-year financial forecast (click here for a chart that explains these adjustments). The district has also made $796,849 in one-time only adjustments this school year. These cuts include administrative, certified and classified positions all throughout the district and are in addition to the $6.4 million in staffing pattern reductions made in 2007 and the $800,000 in reductions made during the 2008-09 school year (a complete list of these historical cost savings efforts is available at this link).
Q. Did the district mismanage funds?
No! This issue is a result of the state changing the way school funding is calculated and nothing else. Olentangy Local Schools has a history of strong fiscal management. In 2008, Standard & Poor’s Rating Services (S & P) increased Olentangy’s credit rating from “AA” to AA+,” the second highest rating possible. According to S & P, “ the upgrade reflects the district’s good management of financial operations.” Of the 614 school districts in Ohio, only one other school district has a higher S & P credit rating than Olentangy Local Schools. The district has also received the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) 11 times in the past 12 years for its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental financial reporting and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management. Also, the Ohio Association of School Business Officials named Treasurer Rebecca Jenkins the 2009 Treasurer of the Year.
Q. What has the district done to cut costs?
The district has a history of strong fiscal management and seeking out operational efficiencies (a complete list of these historical cost savings efforts is available at this link). Since 2000, four studies were completed by third party organizations related to greater operational efficiencies. The Operations and Efficiency Task Force was created in 1999. In 2007, the district adjusted various staffing patterns to save more than $6.4 million over the next five years and during the 2008-09 school year the district made decisions resulting in more than $800,000 per year in savings.
During the 2009-10 school year, Olentangy Local Schools has already cut 51.5 full-time positions from the next four years of the five-year financial forecast. This move will save the district $7,055,853 (click here for a chart that explains these adjustments). The district has also made $796,849 in one-time only adjustments this school year. These cuts include administrative, certified and classified positions all throughout the district.
Q. What if additional cuts are made to school funding or unfunded mandates are added to school requirements?
Olentangy Local Schools’ administrators and board members will work together to closely monitor the legislature for these types of adjustments. While unfunded mandates and additional school funding cuts are difficult to plan for, the district will comply with all state and federal regulations and continue to find ways to better match our expenditures to our loss in revenue.