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BELOIT -- The West Branch Local School District is projected to remain in the black for the next three years before trending into the red amid ongoing funding uncertainty for Ohio's public schools.
During the school board's August meeting, Treasurer Lucas Cooper presented the board with a forecast which continues to project a mixed financial future for the district. Cooper stressed that while the goal is always to make the projections within the forecast as accurate as possible, it is based on current school funding conditions which are liable to change over the next five years and will be adjusted as new information becomes available.
"In the world of school finance things are constantly changing. I feel like every time we turn around there's a new bill trying to get passed. So, we just do our best to try to keep it as accurate as possible," Cooper said.
The district ended fiscal year 2026 with a carryover balance of approximately $6 million, a slight increase from its final balance of approximately $5.9 million. The forecast projects that figure to remain mostly consistent for the next two years with projected final balances $6 million and $6.1 million in fiscal years 2027 and 2028 respectively. However, that carryover is expected to decline in fiscal years 2029. 2030, and 2031 as the district's projected expenses begin to outstrip revenues with projected final balances of approximately $5.5 million, $4.1 million and $2.1 million, respectively.
"The last three years we've done a good job running a balance budget. This school year and next we're also planning a balanced budget but then fiscal year 2029 we start to see some deficit spending and in fiscal years 2030 and 2031 as well," Cooper said.
Cooper said that the district is continuing to review its financial options, noting that the district has managed to cut back the projected deficit in 2030 from the approximately $1 million that was projected in the district's last forecast in February to "just under $600,000." Cooper attributed the projected deficits to a one-two punch of reductions in annual real estate revenue as a result of recently passed state property tax revisions, and ongoing inflation across the board.
Each year, Ohio school districts present and approve a five-year forecast in the first half of the school year, and a second revised forecast in the second half. When those forecasts must be filed were updated with the approval of House Bill 96 in June 2025, which required the first half to be filed by Oct. 15 and the second half at the end of February in fiscal year 2026. The filing deadline for the first half of the forecast has been shifted earlier still in fiscal year 2027 to Aug. 31; however, the deadline for the second half will still be the end of February each year.
During his report, Superintendent Matthew Manley said that the district would be adjusting school hours for the preschool and early learning center for the upcoming 2026-2027 school year. Manley said that the preschool day would be 10 minutes longer this year with classes from 8:30 to 11:40 a.m. and 12:30 to 3:40 p.m.
"We found out that last year with the snow days we had, they were right on the bubble of being under the required [number of] days for pre-school. We felt the best method was to add time. We met with staff and this is what we came up with," Manley said.
The ELC will continue having classes from 8:50 a.m. to 3:25 p.m.; however, the district will be adding an additional 15 minutes of academic time each day. Manley said that the additional class time was possible now that the district's bussing fleet was back to full capacity with 18 drivers from the 15 left the day prior.
"That will help us be in class longer instead of bussing earlier to get to other places," Manley said.
Manley said that the middle school and high school days would remain unchanged.
The board of education will meet next at 6 p.m. on Sept. 21.