Articles

Ohio K-12 State Funding: Analyzing Hold Harmless Guarantees

By Meghan Homsher posted 3 days ago
by Meghan Homsher and Ernie Strawser, Senior Analytics Advisors, Frontline Education Key Learnings • Local Per Pupil Capacity Increased: Ohio's K-12 state funding for fiscal year 2025 shows that, on average, local calculated capacity per pupil increased 10% over FY 2024. • Property Value and Taxpayer Income Increased: Local changes in district property values and taxpayer incomes serves to shift funding burden from the state to local districts. • More Districts are ‘Guaranteed’: FY 2025 reveals that approximately 184 districts are now on the FY 2020/21 funding guarantee. What's Behind the Numbers? Ohio's FY 2025 funding report (SFPR Dec#2) reflects ...

HB 8, Ohio’s new “Parents’ Bill of Rights”

By David Hirt posted 3 days ago
by David Hirt & Susan Keating Anderson, Roetzel & Andress Co., LPA The governor signed House Bill 8 (HB 8), the so-called “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” into law on January 8, 2025. Although initially proposed in HB 445, release time for religious instruction is also made mandatory through HB 8, provided certain conditions are met. The new law is effective April 8, 2025. HB 8 creates new Ohio Revised Code Section 3313.473, which states “[t]he general assembly maintains that a parent has a fundamental right to make decisions concerning the upbringing, education, and care of the parent’s child” and requires each local board of education to adopt ...

Federal Court Strikes Down Overtime Rule: What It Means for School Districts

By Immy Singh posted 12-04-2024
By Immy Singh, Esq. and Emily J. Paisley, Esq., Associate Attorneys with Pepple & Waggoner A federal court has vacated the Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) recent rule change to the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), which will have a significant impact on school districts. The Court vacated a rule change that expanded overtime eligibility by raising the salary threshold on July 1, 2024, and was set to further raise the salary threshold on January 1, 2025. As a result, the salary thresholds for exempt employees are now back to the previous levels. So, what does this mean for districts moving forward? Background Under the FLSA, employees in bona fide ...

The Perrysburg Story

By Randy Drewyor posted 12-03-2024
WHAT IS YOUR STORY? The battle for adequate public-school funding has been ongoing for many years. The challenge has escalated in recent years as the state budget is stressed by school choice vouchers and the influx of ESSER funding has increased the general fund cash balances in many districts. The result has been increasing demands on school business officials to advocate for funding at the state level and then to justify collection of existing levies at the local level. It has been a near-constant refrain from our professional organizations that we need to communicate our story early and often with our elected officials. These stories may have multiple ...

136th General Assembly State Budget Talking Points

By Katie Johnson posted 12-02-2024
To: School board members, superintendents, treasurers, and other school business officials From: Jennifer Hogue, OSBA — (614) 540-4000 Paul Imhoff, BASA — (614) 846-4080 Katie Johnson, OASBO — (614) 431-9116 Re: Biennial budget conversations and materials The process for the next biennial budget is already underway. State agencies have made their budget requests to Gov. Mike DeWine, and he is slated to unveil his budget proposal on Feb. 3, 2025. It is essential to have conversations with all returning and newly elected state legislators about the next biennial budget. This will allow you to share information before budget deliberations ...

OASBO Impact Study: Insights for Strategic Growth and Member Engagement

By Katie Johnson posted 11-19-2024
OASBO recently completed an extensive impact study to assess how well our programs, resources, and services align with member needs and our strategic goals. Thank you for your participation and consideration. The study provided valuable insights into areas of success and opportunities for improvement. Understanding Our Focus OASBO’s mission revolves around four main areas: Membership Engagement, School Business Profession Recruitment, Career Development, and Advocacy. The impact study's findings will help us evaluate these focus areas and identify ways to enhance the value we provide to our members. Key Takeaways from the ...

Signed, Sealed, and Delivered: Ensuring Proper Diploma Requirements are Met

By Gary Stedronsky posted 11-18-2024
By Gary T. Stedronsky, Attorney, Ennis Britton It may only be November, but it is never too early to start planning for graduation. As we begin looking ahead to the big day, let us revisit one of the key regulations that impacts our obligation to our students as they reach this major milestone in their academic journey. O.R.C. 3313.61 lays out the graduation requirements for high school students and guidance for districts when issuing diplomas. Under the statute, the board of education of any city, exempted village, or local school district that operates a high school shall grant a diploma to any student who successfully meets the minimum academic ...

Why Ohio School Districts are Moving Towards Automated Payments

By Taylor Forthofer posted 11-13-2024
Most school districts in Ohio still rely on traditional check payments, with approximately 80-90% of payments made by check. While some districts have started to branch out to ACH (Automated Clearing House) and virtual credit card (VC) programs, each has its own challenges. ACH, while a step toward modernization, still leaves districts vulnerable to fraud, as storing bank information in accounting systems can expose them to cyber threats. Districts that have tried VC card programs often find themselves overwhelmed by the amount of time and effort required to set up and manage these systems. By contrast, solutions that offer a fully managed approach by leveraging ...

How to Ready Your Roofs and Building Envelopes for Winter

By Kevin Butler posted 10-16-2024
Here in Ohio, the freeze-thaw cycle can wreak havoc on facility structures. To make sure your facilities are winter-ready, here are ten essential strategies to protect roofs and building envelopes from harsh winter conditions. 1. Start by Understanding Roof and Building Envelope Vulnerabilities in Winter. A roof is not engineered to be a static entity; changes in temperature, wind force, the weight of rain and snow, and other factors require it to expand and contract. When unwanted moisture infiltrates building components, freezes, expands, and thaws, it can cause significant damage, such as cracking and spalling of roofing membranes and underlying structural ...

Developing a School Laboratory Safety Plan

By Andy Sawan posted 10-09-2024
Laboratory safety in schools is essential to ensure the well-being of students, teachers and staff while conducting experiments and handling chemicals or equipment. Developing and following proper safety practices helps prevent accidents, injuries and exposure to hazardous substances. Creating a safety manual for the lab is a good way to start. Mission Statement Before addressing the parts of the safety manual, consider developing a mission statement. Mission Statements are a great way to show the laboratory's commitment to safety for both teachers and students. The mission statement should reflect the beliefs of the laboratory. Keep the mission ...

The Impact of a 25% Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) Threshold and Disadvantaged Pupil Impact Aid (DPIA) Funding in Ohio

By Jared Bunting posted 10-07-2024
Recent changes by the USDA to the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) have significantly affected Ohio school districts. The change in eligibility requirements from 40% to 25% led to an additional 90 districts joining the program, which provides free breakfast and lunch to all students. These changes have also impacted Disadvantaged Pupil Impact Aid (DPIA) funding for districts that were part of the CEP before FY2025. While new CEP districts have received more funds, non-CEP districts have seen decreased funding due to the inflation of the statewide average percentage of Economically Disadvantaged (ED) students. Source: ODEW 1 Understanding ...

Purchasing Limits for Construction Work Are Loosened to a Degree

By Peter Zawadski posted 09-24-2024
On October 24, 2024, the competitive bidding threshold affecting Ohio public school districts will increase from $50,000 to $75,000. The new limit will not last long because the $75,000 threshold will receive a slight increase of 3% each calendar year. This change marks the first increase to the bidding threshold for school districts since the threshold increased from $25,000 to $50,000 in 2017. The increase in the bidding threshold arose out of the many changes stemming from Ohio Senate Bill (SB) 168 from the 135th General Assembly (GA). . In particular, SB 168 removed the existing bidding threshold amount in Ohio Revised Code Section (ORC) 3313.46 ...

The Problem with $422 and K12 Poverty Funding

By Ernie Strawser posted 09-23-2024
by Ernie Strawser - Frontline Senior Advisor, Analytics estrawser@frontlineed.com Ohio’s school funding formula specific to per-pupil poverty funding creates winners and losers. U nfortunately, this funding is aimed at some of Ohio’s students with the highest need. In a prior article , Meghan Homsher and I outlined the "winner and loser" concept. The intent here is to explain the foundation for the system of winners and losers in Ohio’s K12 poverty funding (DPIA). The formula relies on a per pupil amount of $422. However, only a few districts receive $422 per pupil and everyone else can receive much more or much less per pupil. ...

Members Represent OASBO at Otterbein Career Fair

By Cass Freeland posted 09-11-2024
OASBO members Todd Griffith, Treasurer/CFO of Licking Heights Schools, and Nathan Hilborn, Treasurer of Triad Local Schools, volunteered to represent OASBO at a career fair for business and communications students at Otterbein University on September 10. They talked with college students about their own experiences and how students could get started in school business. They also offered guidance about coursework and sharing information about OASBO. The School Business Careers effort is part of OASBO’s efforts to develop a broader awareness of and drive interest in the school business profession and to increase the pool of qualified candidates. OASBO has ...

Best Practices to Improve Indoor Air Quality in Schools

By Chris Copley posted 08-26-2024
by Chris Copley, Senior Field Advisor, Tremco Roofing & Building Maintenance Indoor air quality (IAQ) is a crucial factor in the health and well-being of students and school staff. With Americans spending 90% of their time indoors and the average adult breathing around 3,000 gallons of air daily, the quality of that air is vital. Poor IAQ can lead to respiratory issues, allergies, and even affect cognitive function, which directly impacts student performance and attendance. If you’re hearing complaints like these — one classroom is too hot, another too cold; odors from the pool permeate the halls; noise from the cafeteria disrupts classes in adjacent ...

Nexus Decision Update: What's Next?

By Rebecca Princehorn posted 08-23-2024
In a case of first impression, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled 4-3 on August 20, 2024, that a county auditor is precluded from appealing the State Tax Commissioner’s final determination reiterating values agreed upon in a settlement agreement (Snodgrass v. Harris, Slip Opinion No. 2024-Ohio-3130). The majority opinion, written by Justice DeWine, gives priority to the statute authorizing the Tax Commissioner to achieve compromise—ending litigation—over a county auditor’s right to appeal a valuation determination, assuming no fraud, duress or error in reciting the compromise. What happens next? The Appellant County Auditor has 10 calendar days from the date ...

Naming Rights Checklist

By Rebecca Princehorn posted 07-19-2024
by Rebecca Princehorn, Partner, and Paul Rutter, Partner Bricker Graydon Naming rights are a popular way to raise revenue without raising taxes. Popular, yes, but they have minefields of their own. Here is a checklist of considerations when presented with a naming rights revenue plan. Statutory Authority – ORC 3313.36 permits a district to accept gifts, including gifts with conditions that do not abrogate district management and control. The right to name district facilities is a district asset thus under district control. Naming Rights Policy – Most districts have a naming rights policy, particularly if they subscribe to ...

Fair Labor Standards Act Rule Takes Effect July 1: Salary Threshold for Overtime Exemption to Change

By Hollie Reedy posted 06-20-2024
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires employers to pay employees overtime for hours over forty in a week unless there is an exception to the rule. An exemption applicable to non-teaching administrative employees is called the EAP exception (executive, administrative, and professional). The employee’s salary and duties are compared to the U.S. Department of Labor standard (DOL) (using the “salary and duties” tests) to determine whether they are exempt executive, administrative, or professional positions and therefore not eligible for overtime under the law. The basic framework requires an employee to be paid a salary in an amount at least equal to the amount ...

Aligning strategic planning and finances for a better budgeting process

By Jeremy Buskirk posted 06-17-2024
by Senior Manager Jeremy Buskirk and Director Matt Bubness, Baker Tilly As another fiscal year and budget process ends, you may be breathing a sigh of relief. This is well deserved. At the same time, this is the time to consider how to improve the budget process for next year and beyond. Now could be the best time to do an assessment of the process by considering it from your perspective as treasurer/CFO as well as polling colleagues to see what worked well and what didn’t. Then, you can begin planning improvements for next year. While taking time to evaluate the process is certainly a time commitment, it may help in ways beyond building a better budget ...

Shifting Poverty Indicators and K12 Poverty Funding in Ohio

By Ernie Strawser posted 06-05-2024
By Ernie Strawser and Meghan Homsher, Frontline Senior Analytics Advisors Overview : This article discusses the issues below and does a deeper dive into the student demographics and funding formula. • Percentage of Economically Disadvantaged Students Increased Statewide • Ohio’s Calculated K12 Poverty Funding Decreased • Some Districts Gained Poverty Revenue and Other Districts Lost Revenue • Children’s Health Insurance Program Enrollment Recently Declined • Economic Disadvantage Ratio Squared Are there winners & losers? The economic disadvantaged revenue landscape changed dramatically in FY 2024 with a 9.6% ...