Educational Articles

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    Ohio K-12 State Funding: Analyzing Hold Harmless Guarantees

    By: Meghan Homsher 3 days ago
    Posted in: All Member Forum

    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 ...

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

    By: David Hirt 3 days ago
    Posted in: All Member Forum

    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 ...

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

    By: Immy Singh one month ago
    Posted in: All Member Forum

    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 ...

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    The Perrysburg Story

    By: Randy Drewyor one month ago
    Posted in: All Member Forum

    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 ...

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    136th General Assembly State Budget Talking Points

    By: Katie Johnson one month ago
    Posted in: All Member Forum

    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 ...

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    OASBO Impact Study: Insights for Strategic Growth and Member Engagement

    By: Katie Johnson one month ago
    Posted in: All Member Forum

    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 ...

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

    By: Gary Stedronsky 2 months ago
    Posted in: All Member Forum

    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 ...

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    Why Ohio School Districts are Moving Towards Automated Payments

    By: Taylor Forthofer 2 months ago
    Posted in: All Member Forum

    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 ...

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    How to Ready Your Roofs and Building Envelopes for Winter

    By: Kevin Butler 3 months ago
    Posted in: All Member Forum

    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 ...

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    Developing a School Laboratory Safety Plan

    By: Andy Sawan 3 months ago
    Posted in: All Member Forum

    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 ...

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

    By: Jared Bunting 3 months ago
    Posted in: All Member Forum

    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 ...

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    Purchasing Limits for Construction Work Are Loosened to a Degree

    By: Peter Zawadski 3 months ago
    Posted in: All Member Forum

    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 ...

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    The Problem with $422 and K12 Poverty Funding

    By: Ernie Strawser 3 months ago
    Posted in: All Member Forum

    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 ...

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    Members Represent OASBO at Otterbein Career Fair

    By: Cass Freeland 4 months ago
    Posted in: All Member Forum

    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 ...

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    Best Practices to Improve Indoor Air Quality in Schools

    By: Chris Copley 4 months ago
    Posted in: All Member Forum

    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 ...

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    Nexus Decision Update: What's Next?

    By: Rebecca Princehorn 4 months ago
    Posted in: All Member Forum

    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 ...

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