Dear ALCS families,
The Board of Education voted last night, November 29, 2023, during a special meeting to table the Resolution to Proceed which would have placed a bond issue on the March 19, 2024 Primary Election. The bond issue request was for funds to construct two new PK-5 elementary schools at the Troy and Eastview sites, one new 6-8 middle school at the Learwood site, and make improvements to our high school. While the outcome of the election was not what we hoped for, the need for new facilities still exists. However, after reviewing our financial outlook, the decision to “press pause” was reasonable.
Every November, the BOE is required by law to approve a five-year forecast. Last evening, before the vote on the Resolution to Proceed with the bond issue, District Treasurer Autumn Reed presented the five-year forecast. After a detailed presentation, which included several recent unanticipated expenses to our forecast, the decision was made to pause the plans of putting the bond issue back on the ballot in March. While our forecast shows a positive cash balance by the end of this school year, our cash balance is projected to decrease by more than the recommended minimum reserve of two months of expenses. To view the five-year forecast, click here.
Board President, Jim Stobe shared the following statement, “After hearing the five-year forecast presentation, the Board recognizes we have several challenges to address with our operating forecast projections that show us needing a new operating levy by 2025. Given the reality of needing to study that issue more, and knowing that there is still more assessment that has to be done on what it will cost to address current maintenance issues, we have decided to pause and not put the Bond Issue on the March ballot and consider a later date.
The need for new buildings is still front and center given the amount of dollars we will have to spend to keep our existing buildings functional and safe for students. We want to engage the community through a survey process on the bond issue that was defeated in November to debrief the past election. We would then discuss the survey results in a community forum, and start working on new ideas that will address new construction and create enough operating dollars to keep our schools strong for the next 10 years and beyond.”
Dr. Ned Lauver, District Director of Operations, highlighted several key areas of concern within the facilities including roofing; HVAC (including a failed chiller at the high school); plumbing; electrical (including interior lighting); increased equipment costs and lack of availability of parts; and increasing fixed costs across the board (insurance, fuel, etc.).
The district’s Permanent Improvement (PI) funds generate approximately $700,000 annually and are utilized for capital projects and equipment designed to last more than five years. There are not enough PI dollars to accommodate the amount of expenditures needed to upgrade the facilities and purchase other capital items such as buses. Since these repairs are needed, the general fund will be negatively impacted, resulting in less money going directly to classroom instruction.
We appreciate the continued input from our school community as we all work together to drive educational excellence within our ALite school district. Please look for the community survey in early 2024.
Please feel free to share any feedback or questions by email to feedback@alcsoh.org.
Sincerely,
Joelle Magyar
