* Cutting 18.5 certified positions (certified jobs are licensed professionals such as teachers, therapists and counselors);
* Cutting two administrative jobs (administration is generally district central office or school building leadership);
* Cutting six classified positions (classified jobs include secretaries, bus drivers, custodians, aides and others).
* At the end of this school year, closing Nevin Coppock Elementary School, which now houses kindergarten and first grade. This would result in having students in kindergarten through second grades at Broadway Elementary School and third through fifth grades at L.T. Ball Elementary School while the district works to finalize plans and build a PK-8 building. Funding for that construction was approved in March.
The district also plans to extend the deadline for those qualifying for severance pay to submit a notice to qualify for a merit service-related award. At a time when staff cuts are possible, this is an incentive for people eligible to retire. The district policy includes a March 1 deadline for that filing. The board will be asked to extend the deadline this year until May 20.
Moran also will take a $10,000 pay cut for the 2024-25 school year, he said.
Moran anticipates some of the staffing proposals will be voted on by the board Tuesday, while others for which details are being finalized will come at subsequent meetings.
A total cost reduction from staffing measures only, if approved, would be around $1.6 million. Other measures including savings from closing a building, some increased revenues in property taxes and not spending as much overall, are projected to bring savings to approximately $2.6 million, Moran said.
“The reality of enrollment numbers in several grades, increasing costs and limited state funding have created a financial shortfall that necessitates these decisions,” he said.
“This is not what I’d like to be doing or anybody else would like to be doing, however we must be fiscally responsible with the taxpayers’ money. We can look at the long-term success of the district,” Moran said. “Our community has been very supportive, obviously passing the bond on the first ask … more than what has been asked before.”
Tipp City Schools began the 2023-24 school year with a $12.7 million cash balance, or roughly 43% of a year’s expenditures according to their five-year forecast, a fairly normal amount when compared to other Miami Valley school districts. But district documents as of late November showed significant deficit spending for this year, tied to an increase in expenditures. An updated financial forecast is required in May.
The reduction recommendations followed a comprehensive evaluation by the administration of district programs, student interests, staff schedules and consolidation of responsibilities. The students’ “wellbeing and educational experience are our top priority,” Moran said.
The district has been meeting with the Tipp City Education Association (the employee union) on proposals.
Contact this contributing writer at nancykburr@aol.com
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