June 30, 2008

WAYNE TRACE LOCAL SCHOOLS

COMPARATIVE REPORT

For the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2008

One District – One Mission – One Vision

ONE DISTRICT – ONE MISSION – ONE VISION

FROM OUR BOARD OF EDUCATION

On behalf of the Wayne Trace Local School District Board of Education, we welcome you to preview our 2008 Community and Fiscal Comparative Report. We truly believe the Wayne Trace Local Schools are the heart of our community. Parents, Grandparents, and Community members have played a large and important role in helping our students achieve success by supporting our school district. Together we value education. A positive educational process is our first priority. However, a quality education is not inexpensive. We believe it is important to communicate that our schools do not waste money. We are constantly looking for ways to work more efficiently, at the same time ensuring a quality education. The progress of our schools is a direct result of your financial support, the commitment of a caring and dedicated staff, and the hard work of our students and parents. We have to work together as a TEAM to make the educational process a successful one at Wayne Trace.

The primary mission of the Wayne Trace Local Schools is to continually move forward in a positive direction to build educational opportunities for our students. We took a big step this year in building these educational opportunities by offering college courses for the first time at Wayne Trace. Our students will have the opportunity to take Calculus, Psychology, Physics, Spanish IV, and American History through the University of Findlay. Qualified Wayne Trace teachers received college training from the University of Findlay to become adjunct faculty of the university. The full cost of each course is substantially reduced by the University of Findlay in order to make this program available and affordable to high school students. These classes will be accepted by any state college in Ohio and reportedly accepted by many private schools as well. However, each private college will determine credit on a case to case basis.

Our students are improving and performing better each year on the Ohio Achievement Test and Ohio Graduation Test. This is a result of the commitment our teachers, students, and administrators are making towards academic growth and academic development within our district. Our goal is to reach a perfect score on the Ohio Department of Education’s District Report Card. We are making significant gains in reaching that goal. Our goal is to reach “Excellent” status. We are currently at “Effective” status. Our school district has consistently met state benchmarks for all student groups to achieve the adequate yearly progress (AYP) designation. AYP is a very important piece of the ODE District Report Card because it indicates that all Wayne Trace students, including our economically disadvantaged students and students on an IEP are making adequate yearly progress. We are making positive steps in the right direction.

Wayne Trace teachers and administrators are extremely dedicated to improving the curriculum. Our students have also responded in a positive way to improving test scores. We give our students, teachers, and administrators much credit for their dedication and desire for accomplishing this goal. We will continue to always strive towards future academic success.

Because of the uncertainty and inconsistency of school funding, it is very difficult to plan more than two years in advanced. Since our goal is to help our students achieve success in the areas of academics and extra curriculars, we have developed a 5-year plan in both areas to try to achieve this goal. The 5-year plan allows us to extend our vision when it comes to improving our school system. We find it more prudent to plan ahead with a five-year vision rather than confine ourselves within a two-year vision.

Again, many thanks to our supportive community members and financial supporters who are helping us make these goals possible. Hopefully, this will give you an idea what “we” (students, staff, administration, and board) are trying to accomplish. The information enclosed in this document will give you the specifics relative to the finances of the Wayne Trace Local Schools. We greatly appreciate your time and support.

The Wayne Trace Board of Education

WHAT’S INSIDE:
BOARD, STAFF & FACILITIES
WHERE DOES THE MONEY COME FROM?
TAXES
COMPARATIVE TAXES
TRANSPORTATION
EXPENDITURES BY “OBJECT”
EXPENDITURES BY “FUNCTION”
PER PUPIL SPENDING
FIVE YEAR FORECAST (click here)

BOARD OF EDUCATION

Les Hockenberry President 6th year in office

Pat Baumle, Vice-President 5th year in office

Dale Stoller, Board Member 7th year in office

Perry R. Sinn Board Member 3rd year in office

Lisa L. McClure Board Member 3rd year in office

Board of Education meetings are held on the Second Monday of each month.

FACILITIES

Wayne Trace Junior/Senior High School

4915 US RT 127

Haviland, OH 45851

419-399-4100 or 419-622-5271

Mr. Kevin Wilson, Principal

Wayne Trace Grover Hill Elementary Wayne Trace Payne Elementary

101 S. Monroe Street 501 W. Townline Street

Grover Hill, OH 45891 Payne, OH 45880

419-587-3414 419-263-2512

Mr. Al Lautzenheizer, Principal Ms. Sarah Deatrick, Principal

ADMINISTRATION:

Mr. Brian Gerber, Superintendent

Mr. Rob Wannemacher, Treasurer

Ms. Kathy Flaugh, Food Services

Ms. Amy Noggle, Transportation

Ms. JoEllen Sisson, Technology

Ms. Ann Olwin, Administrative Secretary

Ms. Annette Baumle, Asst. Treasurer

This report is a short overview comparing Wayne Trace Local School District’s financial status for the year ended June 30, 2008 to other area districts. Where data is not current we have used the most recent numbers available. This report is designed to be a user friendly means of increasing the public’s knowledge about the District’s finances, both historical and future.

During the fiscal year (July 1 through June 30) just ended we received 64.2% our funding from State and Federal Sources and 35.8% from Local Sources

As a resident of Wayne Trace Local School District, you have voted taxes and effective taxes which represent 2 different numbers.

In Ohio, tax rates “rollback” due to the effects of House Bill 920 (HB 920). When you vote on a Real Estate Tax, the ballot lists both a millage rate and a total dollar amount based on existing property. According to Ohio law, the amount the school district collects for the General Fund each year is to remain constant in relation to existing property at the time of passage, but the amount paid by each individual will change as the community changes around you. This means that as the value of most homes increases, the tax rate district-wide will decrease.

Each year the County Auditor receives effective tax rates from the Ohio Department of Taxation. These are the rates that are actually paid, not the voted rates. HB920 reduces the voted tax rates so that schools do not collect more money when property values increase.

The Ohio Revised Code does provide a “floor” under which the effective general fund rate cannot drop. That floor is 20 mills (.0200), and when a district reaches that tax rate, the tax you will pay rises with inflation.

Wayne Trace Local Schools has 2 separate income taxes. The first was passed in 1991 for ¾% or an equivalent of 8.63 mills. This was renewed in 1996 for ¾%(or an equivalent of 7.69 mills) and again in 2001 for ¾% (or an equivalent of 7.43 mills). This levy was just renewed by our voters for 5 years at .75% or an equivalent of 6.94 mills. The second levy, passed in 2004 for ½%, was for an equivalent of 4.81 mills for a continuing period.

Residential taxes are calculated by multiplying the County Auditor’s assessed valuation rate of 35% times the fair market value of your property. If your home is worth $100,000, you will pay taxes on a value of $35,000.

The millage rate will determine the gross amount of taxes you would have to pay before any Homestead Exemption or Rollback.

The table below, where 1 mill equals .001, shows how the county calculates your school taxes.

Tax dollars that are collected through General Operating Millage are used for the day-to-day operations of the District. These funds are supplemented with the Income Tax revenue paid by all district residents.

The Bond Issues passed by Wayne Trace voters were for the High School Gym and Cafeteria in 1986 and for renovations to the High School and both Elementaries in 2000. Taxes collected for these bonds cannot be used for any other purpose except for the repayment of the bonds. The 1986 Bonds are scheduled to be paid off in December of 2009, but our receipts have exceeded the original projections so tax collections for this 1 mill will end 2 years early in 2007. IN 2008 YOU WILL SEE A 1 MILL DROP IN YOUR TAX RATE.

These are funded by a .5 mill (.005) tax that was required by the state as part of the original 2000 bond levy. These funds are to be used to assist in the additional costs to maintain larger and more sophisticated set of buildings. This levy expires with the 2000 bond levy in 2028.

For comparison purposes we have calculated the approximate amount of taxes paid by a family in each district. For consistency we used a home and property

The delivery of children to and from school and extracurricular events requires many hours of planning and dedication from our drivers and staff. That dedication allows Wayne Trace to have one of the lowest cost per mile figures in the state. Below is a comparison of cost per mile for Wayne Trace and neighboring districts.

WHERE DID THE MONEY GET SPENT?

This page identifies the expenditures of the district by object. This is the way the state has set up for identifying the “objects” where our money is spent.

Salary and Benefits are the bulk of our expenditures totaling 68% of our total costs. This is not an alarming percentage as we are in the “people” business: people serving our children and the community.

Purchased services include the fixed costs for electricity, gas, water and water treatment and telephone charges. The bulk of the amount is for the costs of the Western Buckeye Educational Service Center which provides our special education teachers and supervisors. Included in this category are legal fees, copy machine charges, and cost of repairs done by outside companies to our equipment and facilities.

The Materials and Supplies component accounts for the materials used by our teachers, students, and maintenance staff on a daily basis. Everything from pencils and paper to floor cleaner and polish is included under this “object.”

Capital Outlay includes new and replacement equipment for the district such as computers, calculators and a new bus.

The “other” category includes such items as the collection fees charged by the county auditor, the state department of taxation, and school insurance.

Another way to look at expenditures is by examining the purpose or function for the spending. Our “function” is to educate students and therefore the majority of our spending is related to that purpose. Instruction and Pupil Support are the people and items that affect our children on a day-to-day basis for both regular and special education classes. This spending category includes teachers, guidance counselor, classroom aides, and materials and supplies used on a daily basis.

Administration relates to the overall operation of the district and provides administrative support to the staff. This “function” included cost relative to the administration of all programs within the district.

Transportation ensures the safe transport of our children to and from school through regular maintenance and repairs.

Board and Fiscal represents costs associated with the Board of Education and the financial accounting for the district.

Extracurricular areas account for the AD office, athletic coaches, marching band, class advisors, club advisors, and transportation of students to events.

Thought by many to be the best indicator of quality of education in relation to costs, expenditure per pupil is an excellent statistic to examine especially for comparison purposes. This statistic is the best equalizing reference to use statewide when assessing educational quality versus economy of overall operations. The Statewide cost per pupil for 05-06 was $9343. All general fund costs are included to calculate a per pupil cost.

The items we have covered are an attempt to show how and where the money comes from and how and where it goes. If there is information you would like in more detail or other comparisons, please contact me at the High School at (419) 263-2415 ext. 102, and I will be glad to discuss any requests or inquiries with you.