Board of Education Regular Meeting

Mr. Mock was introduced by Dr. Butcher and spoke to the Board and those in attendance. He provided a summary of the make-up and a brief history of the Ohio School Boards Association. He explained he is in the Southeast Region and works with the districts in that region. Coshocton City Schools is in the Southeast Region. 

 He stated that there are usually 2 OSBA SE Region conferences, one in the Spring and one in the Fall. For the past 2 years, they have not been able to have the Spring Conference.  The Capital Conference for all regions will be in November in person at the Columbus Convention Center. The Fall Conference for the SE region will also be in person on September 30. The location is still unknown.  In the midst of all that, veteran Board members are recognized. He is here tonight to recognize Arthur "Sam" Bennett for 10 years of service. He thanked Sam for his dedication and his work.  Mr. Mock also applauded the Board and the others present for their hard work during these years that have not been easy. He wanted to showcase the conference. He encouraged Coshocton City Schools to share our programs at the conference. Nominations for art awards can be found on the OSBA website. He also encouraged the District to submit names to be recognized for volunteering, the deadline for that is June 30. He congratulated our seniors that will be graduating this year.

Dr. Hire mentioned that Mr. Mock travels all over the state to make sure that Board Members receive their recognition in person. He thanked Mr. Mock for that.

Dr. Butcher read the list of National Honor Society inductees and invited any student that was present to come forward to receive their Certificate.

Dr. Butcher read the list for the National Junior Honor Society inductees and invited any student that was present to come forward to receive their Certificate.

Dr. Butcher read the list of National Technical Honor Society student inductees and invited any student that was present to come forward to receive their Certificate.

Dr. Butcher presented certificates to the students that received Ohio Music Education Association Awards. 

Ms. Eyerman shared that the original estimates were unclear and not able to be used to make a decision or selection of a vendor for the project. Jake contacted each vendor that submitted a bid to schedule a site visit where he walked the property and explained exactly what the District needs and expectations were for the project and the bids. Two of the three vendors resubmitted their bids. The third stated that they would not be the lowest bid and knew that and chose not to participate in the meeting or resubmit. The two bids that were resubmitted were very close. The checklist used to determine the decision between the two resulted in awarding the job to Tumlin Fence Company. One of the deciding factors was a past relationship through work completed on that same property. 

Tumlin has also provided a quote to install the fencing being removed from the Varsity softball field at the practice field.

The Board asked when the project would begin and be completed. Ms. Eyerman stated that the decision of the vendor was just made and they had not contacted the vendor to determine a date but is confident it would be completed over the summer.

Vote recorded in 10.0.

Ms. Eyerman stated that the monthly financial report did not have anything out of the ordinary and if the Board was agreeable would skip the presentation of the Monthly report because the Forecast review was inclusive of the April financial data. The Board was in agreement.

Vote recorded in 10.0.

Ms. Eyerman reviewed the revenue and expenditure assumptions with the Board. She discussed the financial risks of being dependent not the State funding citing that in the five years of the forecast there are always two state budget cycles where changes could be made to the District funding. Also, as we saw recently, the State can decide to cut funding in a forecasted financial crisis for the State. There are also many times when the State requires the districts to offer programming that is costly yet does not provide additional funding to support the programs. She cited College Credit plus as an example, stating that it is a great opportunity for students yet, the district has to find a way to fund it with no additional financial support from the State. Ms. Eyerman also mentioned that the "Fair Funding Formula" that has been proposed as a newly updated formula for funding public schools in Ohio is still in the Senate. If approved, this could be a great advantage to Coshocton. 

Ms. Eyerman then reviewed the revenue and expenditure changes from the November forecast. Pointing out that the property tax projections were the greatest difference. The District recognized an $8M decrease in valuations from the exempted property this year.  FY21 revenue was restated on the May forecast showing a reduction of $273,003.56.  Expenditures in the Purchased Services line were reduced by $53,436. These changes resulted in forecasting that the District expenditures would exceed revenue by approximately $672,000, reducing the District's General Fund Cash balance to less than $3M. These changes carry through the five years of the forecast. 

Ms. Eyerman also explained that there have been staff retirements and departures that are recognized in the forecast. She stated that the administration is aware that adjustments will be necessary to accommodate some of the departures but until the jobs are posted and staff chooses their desired changes, that decisions cannot be made on what adjustments will be needed.  Administration plans to use ESSER funding to alleviate some of the strain on the General Fund for these staffing adjustments. The current staffing reductions are in the forecast and are reflected and carry through the five years of the forecast. 

Ms. Eyerman pointed out the reduction in spending on the Purchased services line in FY21 and provided a summary of the balance of the forecast assumptions to the Board.

Vote recorded in 10.0.

Dr. Butcher commented on the generous donation from the Coshocton Music Boosters for the marching band uniforms and expressed gratitude from the Board.

Vote recorded in 10.0.

Ms. Eyerman explained that the District is required to appropriate funds before spending. The appropriations are always completed at the beginning of the year so the District can conduct business and any adjustments presented at the end of the fiscal year to ensure all expenditures were appropriated. She plans to bring appropriation adjustments if needed to the Board quarterly if they are needed so the District is in compliance throughout the year. She pointed out that the most significant adjustments were the re-allocation of funds in the State and Federal Grants area. There are also two large adjustments that are a result of the contract for the Chiller Project to add air conditioning to the HS. The expenditure needed to be encumbered so the process could begin. The District plans use ESSER to reimburse these funds once ESSER funding is available.

Vote recorded in 10.0.

Ms. Eyerman provided a brief explanation of the Auxiliary Fund 2 year budget process and why this transfer is needed -  and will continue to be needed, every two years.

Vote recorded in 11.0.

Vote recorded in 11.0.

Mr. Johnson and Dr. Butcher were curious how we determined the lease amount in the agreement. Dr. Hire explained that we continued to use the same % increase each year as we have in the past. The calculation is a 2.5% increase each year.

Vote recorded in 11.0.

Vote recorded in 11.0.

Vote recorded in 11.0.

The Board commented that Pleasant Hill does a really nice job.

Vote recorded in 11.0.

Mr. Johnson asked if we looked at any other vendors this year. Ms. Eyerman stated we did not put this out for bid this year. Kimble renewed at same rates as last year.

Vote recorded in 11.0.

This was budgeted out of General Fund. 

Vote recorded in 11.0.

Vote recorded in 11.0.

Dr. Hire explained that we have not heard any more about the grant application but since we have the filed application we would like the Board to state that if awarded, they approve receipt of the funds and express their intent to move forward upon receipt of the grant. The Board was in agreement in order to move this project forward quickly so it can be completed over the summer - before staff and students return.

Vote recorded in 11.0.

Dr. Hire provided a brief summary of how this will impact our staff and how it ties into the presentation that Ms. Ashbrook provided at a previous meeting. 

Dr. Hire thanked the Levy Committee for the hard work and asked the Board if they had any comments or questions - there were none.

Dr. Hire provided information about the TeleHealth project and the devices our District will receive. He mentioned to the Board that there will be an event at Zanesville High School and all Board members are encouraged to attend.

Project update - Dr. Hire explained that the MVHC  Clinic MOU will need approval at the next meeting. A copy of the MOU is attached. We will be scheduling a special meeting the first week of June to vote for this and other items.

The HVAC/Chiller -  PlugSmart will be able to do much of the work before the chiller arrives. We are waiting on PlugSmart to schedule the dates that the work will begin.. We anticipate the chiller will come in a week before teachers arrive and hope the installation will take place over a weekend.

SHP - we will be re-engaging this summer. We will be getting Mr. Fauver highly involved in that.

Vote included in 12.0.

Vote recorded in 13.0.