VWCS board approves five-year forecast

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

The Van Wert City Board of Education approved its five-year forecast and also heard a presentation from band students during its November meeting on Wednesday.

District Treasurer Mike Ruen noted that, according to his projections, the district will spend more than it takes in for four of the five years of the forecast. However, with a carryover of as much as $5.4 million, the district won’t actually be in the red until the final year of the forecast, 2022, when it will see an operating deficit estimated at $615,000.

Ruen said he factored in a 2-percent increase in salaries over the period and an approximately 6 percent increase in benefits and health insurance each year. He said the district has seen an increase in property tax revenues and income tax revenues over the past few years, as well as a 7.3-percent hike in state foundation funding, but noted property tax revenues could decline a bit because of a revaluation that would decrease agriculture property taxes — which have accounted for most of the increase the last three years — and increase residential and commercial taxes.

Ruen also projected that state foundation money would remain flat for four of the five years, because of the uncertainty of how much the district will receive in the next five years in state funding.

The treasurer acknowledged that the five-year forecast was just that: an estimate of revenues and expenditures over the next five years, while noting that actual revenue and expenditures could be significantly different.

In the past, Ruen has noted the difficulty of trying to estimate what will happen financially in the district over the next five years. While some things, such as salaries, can be estimated fairly well, others, such as health insurance costs and state funding, are not so easy to forecast.

Also Wednesday, Band Director Bob Sloan brought in a group of four students to talk about their band experiences, as part of a celebration of the band’s 90th anniversary.

The students, Shane Stabler, Briana Kesler, Jackie Sroufe, and Cassie Welker, talked about their experiences in band, and also cited statistics that show that students who participate in music score higher on college entrance tests.

Van Wert High School has been fortunate to receive long-term commitments from its band directors, and has only had five directors in its 90-year history: Leonard Wolf, Herbert Jones, Jay Hall, Tony Alessandrini, and Sloan.

All of the students said they enjoyed being in band, and, while only one said she planned to pursue a music degree in college, all said they wanted to continue their involvement in music after high school graduation.

During her report, Superintendent Staci Kaufman noted that she recommended that the board approve donation of 52/1000th of an acre to facilitate the upcoming Jefferson Street reconstruction project.

In other action, the board:

• Approved the following supplemental contracts: Charlie Witten, varsity baseball coach; Drew Golden, assistant baseball coach; Jim Werts, junior varsity baseball coach; Greg Steinecker, head softball coach; Sean Kennedy, assistant softball coach; Betsy Davis and Melissa Bockrath, freshman softball coaches (each 50 percent); Alex Schmidt, boys’ tennis coach; Mark Collins, boys’ head track coach; Nate Hoverman, girls’ head track coach; Hannah Phlipot, Ben Laudick, Ryan Holliday, and Betty Holliday, assistant boys/girls track coaches (each 50 percent); Bob Spath, Kerry Koontz, and Megan Hurless, middle school track coaches.
• Approved the following volunteer coaches: Jeremy Kitson, baseball; Jay Royer, softball; Eli Alvarez, boys’ tennis; and Bob Priest, high school track.
• Approved district policy and plan for the identification and service of gifted children.
• Adopted a resolution in support of Senate Bill 216, an education reform bill pending in the Ohio General Assembly.
• Accepted the following donations: Home Health Care Solutions Ltd., $100 for the VWMS Renaissance program; GS Overhead Door Service LLC, $150 for t-shirts for the VWMS principal’s fund; and Avangrid Inc., $292.66 for benches as part of the VWES principal’s fund.

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Van Wert City Board of Education will be at 5 p.m. Wednesday, December 20, in the S.F. Goedde Building conference room.