The Exploring FCS Financials presentation from Mrs. Harrington presented at the June 26th Board of Education meeting.

Board of Education Statement | September 16, 2024
Findlay City Schools: Protecting Excellence
 

An exceptional school district is essential to the vibrancy of Findlay. It attracts new businesses, fosters economic growth, and upholds the high standards the city is known for. A strong education system is a key component of the community’s long-term prosperity. Findlay prides itself on being a place where families want to live, businesses want to invest, and children are provided with the best opportunities for success. The Findlay City School District has achieved a high standard of education that has been vital to families and the community’s continued growth and success.

Increasing FCS’s revenue is vital to ensuring that the excellence of Findlay City Schools continues to deliver educational quality for parents and drive the community forward.

Maintaining Excellence in Challenging Times: Findlay City Schools struggles to keep pace with growing expenses as inflation outpaces revenue growth. Like most school districts, Findlay City Schools receives mostly flat funding from the State of Ohio based on the most recent state budget from Ohio’s school funding model. This requires the District to rely on the community through voter-approved levies to help offset inflation and sustain operations.

Findlay City Schools has stretched local tax support for nearly twenty years, with the last operating levy passed in November 2004. This has led Findlay Schools to have one of the lowest current residential tax costs in the region. The new state funding formula indicates Findlay has a greater local ability to support a larger portion of the funds needed to educate our students than is currently being generated. The new state funding formula looks at a community’s ability to support local schools using both property and income tax and then determines state support to augment the local ability to generate funding. State funding will not be increased to compensate for lack of funding at the local level.

Full Transparency and Expert Consultation: To ensure the community receives accurate, objective, and verifiable information, the district has brought in a consultant with expertise in school finance sustainability. This consultant has been working with the team to clearly communicate the urgency and validity of the need for additional operating funding. By providing expert insights, the district is committed to transparency and accountability in demonstrating why this levy is critical and creating a tax policy.

The Need: Findlay City Schools needs to increase their operating income to sustain the current level of excellence and quality of education. The finance team, working with the Board and its finance expert, determined a 1.00% earned income tax will deliver an increase in revenue that will not only meet the current needs of the District but carry it forward for the foreseeable future.

The Critical Role of the 1.00% “Earned” Income Tax: The revenue generated by this levy is essential to sustaining the educational excellence that the community values. It supports programs, services, and rising operating costs, ensuring students continue to receive the high-quality education that is key to their success. It also supports the District’s long-term goal to become financially sustainable over longer periods of time, as well as providing tax relief to residents who are on fixed incomes, retired, or soon to be retired. An “earned” income tax is specifically designed to minimize the future cost of taxes to our community’s older residents.

Impact of Levy Failure: If the levy is not approved, a first phase of immediate reductions will need to be implemented, continuing into the 2025-26 school year. These cuts will negatively affect the district’s ability to maintain its current level of excellence in programs and opportunities, directly impacting students and families.

The Board of Education will have to enact the following likely consequences: 

Phase One: Initially Proposed Reductions (School Year 25-26):

• Reduce staff by 27 teaching positions, including Teachers on Special Assignments, using a combination of average salaries since the reductions will be in the future and by not replacing projected five retirees.                                  
• Reduce additional 12 staff by eliminating Middle School Block Teaching for Math and Language Arts                                       
• A minimum of five administrators will be reduced.
• Athletic supplementals and non-athletic supplementals will be reduced
• Cutting the purchased service expenditures related to the Leader in Me Program and reducing professional development.
• Reduce Kindergarten staff by returning to half day kindergarten
• No busing to high school and maximum amounts for walking
• Reduce 15 support staff positions

These likely reductions are subject to change based on retirements and resignations, changes to enrollment, or other circumstances.

Phase Two Proposed Reductions (School Year 26-27):

Should the Board continue to be unsuccessful in securing additional operating funding, a second round of likely cuts would need to be implemented in FY27, of an additional 4 million dollars. 

• Reduce the teaching staff up to additional 26 positions
• Reduce up to an additional 25 supplemental positions
• Reduce up to an additional 4 administrative positions
• Reduce security guards by up to 8 positions
• Close all buildings by 6:00 p.m. and end busing to all events
• Reduce support staff by up to 10 positions

The following was presented on December 16, 2024 for the Board to begin considering for reductions due to the failure to pass new operating funds in November 2024.

Matt Cooper was elected to the Findlay Board of Education in November of 2017. Mr. Cooper is currently the Battalion Chief of the Findlay Fire Department, where he has served the community for 16 years. Mr. Cooper is also involved in Fire Department Operations for Tactical Emergency Medical Services with the Findlay Police Department.

Mr. Cooper has been actively involved in Findlay City Schools through volunteer activities. In addition, Mr. Cooper is an alum of Findlay High School, graduating in 1998, where he was a four-year letterman in hockey and played varsity baseball. After high school, Mr. Cooper played hockey for Team Ohio in Cleveland before attending Bowling Green State University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Fire Administration. Mr. Cooper was born and raised in Findlay, Ohio and attended Findlay City Schools from kindergarten through graduation.  Mr. Cooper’s mother, brother, and sister all attended and graduated from Findlay City Schools.

Mr. Cooper resides in Findlay with his wife, Brooke, and their two children, who attend Findlay City Schools.

E-mail: matt.cooper@findlaycityschools.org

Laura Eier was elected to the Findlay Board of Education in November 2019. Ms. Eier is currently retired after spending 28 years in Finance and HR.

Ms. Eier began volunteering at Findlay City Schools when her daughters were in elementary school and continued for many years after that. She is part of four generations of graduates from Findlay High School beginning with her mother (class of 1940). She is serving as President of Flag City Morning Rotary for the 2023-24 year.

Ms. Eier resides in Findlay. She has two daughters and four grandchildren.

E-mail: laura.eier@findlaycityschools.org

Chris Aldrich was elected to the Findlay Board of Education in November 2015. Mr. Aldrich is currently the Integrity Management Program Coordinator for Marathon Pipe Line LLC. Mr. Aldrich graduated from Kilgore College and Stephen F. Austin State University in Corrosion Technology.

Mr. Aldrich is also involved in the National Association of Corrosion Engineers and has been the chairman of multiple technical committees. More recently, he was the chairman of the Specific Technical Group that provides industry standards and guidance for managing pipeline integrity.

Mr. Aldrich has been actively involved in the Findlay City Schools through volunteer activities. He also volunteers at church on the Missions Team and in the Children’s Ministry programs.

Mr. Aldrich resides in Findlay with his wife, Carrie, and their two children.

E-mail: chris.aldrich@findlaycityschools.org

Kathy Siebenaler Wilson was elected to the Findlay City Board of Education in January 2012. Dr. Siebenaler Wilson has spent over 40 years in education, including serving as a Findlay High School teacher for 13 years. She earned her Ph.D. in Educational Administration and continued to teach as an assistant professor in the College of Business Administration at Bowling Green State University for six years. She then returned to Findlay City Schools as an administrator for 10 years as the Assistant Director and then Director of Millstream Career & Technology Center. Dr. Siebenaler Wilson currently serves as the Chief Administrator/Executive Director of both Northwest Ohio Tech Prep and Northwest Ohio High Schools That Work Regional Centers. Dr. Siebenaler Wilson resides in Findlay and is the proud mother of twins, Shelby and Logan, who attended Findlay High School.

During her days of teaching at Findlay High School, Dr. Siebenaler Wilson was the Findlay High School Marching Band majorette coach for 15 years, and was the founder of the Findlay High School Trojanette Drill Team and Entourage Co-Ed Dance Team for 14 years. Presently, she continues to serve as the Bowling Green State University Falcon Marching Band Twirler Coach.

Community involvement includes participation in University of Findlay College of Education Dean’s Advisory Committee, University of Toledo Office of Workforce Development Advisory Board. Putnam County Business Advisory Council, Lucas County Ohio Means Jobs Advisory Board, KanDu Group, Inc. Board, Blanchard Valley Industries/KanDu Board Member, Friends of Blanchard Valley PTO Board Member. She has been a recipient of the 2008 Owens Community College Partnership Award and a Business & Professional Women of Findlay/Hancock Co. Honoree-Education Division. Previously, she received a Bowling Green State University College of Education Distinguished Alumni Award and the BGSU President's Distinguished Service Award.

E-mail: kathy.wilson@findlaycityschools.org

Susan Russel was elected to the Findlay Board of Education in November 2017. Mrs. Russel is a graduate of the University of Illinois with a BA in Finance. In 2022, Mrs. Russel retired from Marathon Petroleum Company after 23 years of service as a logistics and project manager within the Supply, Distribution, and Planning organization. She has over 37 years of business and management experience and has worked for several major corporations with increasing levels of responsibility during her career.

Mrs. Russel is originally from Springfield, Illinois and moved to Fort Collins, Colorado to begin her
career. She and her family moved to Findlay in 1996 and chose Findlay as the community to raise their children. Mrs. Russel has been actively involved with the Findlay City Schools during her two sons’ K-12 education; both sons having successfully graduated from Findlay High School.

Mrs. Russel has been active in her community over the years through Findlay Service League, Rotary, church, and social groups. Mrs. Russel and her husband, Grant, enjoy serving their community and making it a great place to live, work, learn and play.

E-mail: susan.russel@findlaycityschools.org