The Roughrider- December 2022

A HISTORY OF COMMUNITY SUPPORT

One of the challenges for school districts is continually securing needed funding to operate the programs and services that staff and students require. School funding in Ohio has always been fraught with uncertainties and inequities. Multiple times the Ohio Supreme Court has ruled the school funding system, which relies heavily on property taxes, to be unconstitutional. However, the law requires the legislature to provide the remedy and they have never adequately done so. Thus we still find ourselves relying ever more so on local communities to fund school operations by passing school levies.

When I first came to West Jefferson as Superintendent we had an urgent need to renew an existing 9.5 mill emergency levy. On August 7, 2001 we did so successfully. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that 21 years later we would have passed 10 additional levies, all successfully on their first attempt. In my time in West Jefferson the community has never failed a school levy request. This is a remarkable and unprecedented record of community support. I am tremendously grateful to our community for this outstanding achievement. As I have often stated “A community is known by the schools that it keeps.”

The 11 successful levies not only span over two decades but they also include different kinds of levies. On November 4, 2003 we passed a Bond Issue by a winning margin of 64.91 percent to build and renovate our facilities. It had been over 40 years, at that time, since any new money was approved for facilities. We have endeavored to keep those facilities in great shape in the nearly twenty years that have gone by.

On November 4, 2008 we passed a half-percent Income Tax levy. This was an attempt to provide some balance in our tax structureand alleviate the pressure on property taxes. We renewed the existing Emergency Levy before asking the community to increase our Income Tax to 1%. On May 6, 2014 this increase request was successful. Three additional renewal levies passed prior to

our most recent successful effort this past November 8, 2022 of passing ourSubstituteLevy, which is a renewal of an Emergency Levy but allows the district to collect additional revenue on new construction.

Our success on ballot issues has provided our school district not only the necessaryfunding for our programs but the kind of stability and reliability to properly plan and budget. New needs and requirements from the State require districts to continually look ahead to ensure future needs are met. In the end, this tremendous community support has given our students the quality education that our community has come to expect and appreciate. Jefferson Local Schools are proud of our history. I hope everyone can also take pride in the part they played in this amazing record of success.

William Mullett Superintendent
Jefferson Local School District

Jefferson Local School District 20-Year Voting History
Election Date
	Millage and Type
	% Votes For
	% Votes Against

November 4, 2003
	0.5 mill Permanent Improvement
	
64.91
	
35.09
	
November 4, 2003
	$16,900,000 Bond
	64.91
	35.09
	
March 2, 2004
	0.5% Income Tax
	50.07
	49.93

November 8, 2005
	$1,452,338 Emergency
	
54.73
	
45.27
	
November 4, 2008
	0.5% Income Tax
	61.44
	38.56

May 4, 2010
	$1,452,338 Emergency
	
56.78
	
43.22

May 6, 2014
	1% Earned Income Tax
	
51.08
	
48.92

November 3, 2015
	$1,452,338 Emergency
	
65.19
	
34.81
	
November 6, 2018
	1% Income Tax
	64.87
	35.13
	
November 5, 2019
	$769,711 Emergency
	53.62
	46.38
	
November 8, 2022
	$1,452,338 Substitute
	56.11
	43.89

The Bottom Line By: Mark Ingles, Treasurer/CFO

Last month I presented to the Board of Education a five-year financial forecast for its approval. I am required by law to produce and submit to the Ohio Department of Education a five-year financial forecast by the end of November with an update by the end of May. While the forecast is a legal requirement, it is also a useful financial tool for the District. The forecast provides a road map of sorts that allows for effective budgeting in future fiscal years while identifying potential issues that should be addressed as early as possible.

The five-year forecast presented in November 2022 has several pieces of positive news for the District. With the passage of the substitute levy in November the revenues associated with that levy is included in the property tax line items. By law when a levy expires during the forecast period the revenues associated with thatlevy is removed from the revenue lines, since I cannotassume passage of a levy. Thanks to the community’s generous support that levy will be included in the forecast for the next seven years. The school district income tax collections remain strong, with an expected increase in collections for this fiscal year. This is a sign of a strong local economy.

Expenses are forecasted to increase due to approved salary adjustments negotiated with the District’s two collective bargaining units last summer. The District is seeing a sharp increase in repair related purchased services due to the school building’s major mechanical equipment, such as HVAC, reaching the end of their useful life, requiring either repair or replacement. Capital outlay is also expected

$20,000,000

$15,000,000

$10,000,000

$5,000,000

$0

2023	2024	2025

Total Revenues

$1,000,000

$500,000

$0

($500,000)

($1,000,000) 2026	2027

Total Expenditures

to increase with the purchase of three new school buses this fiscal year.This cost isoffset bya stategrant. In future years supplies and purchased services previously funded through federal COVID funds will be added back to the forecast, as the General Fund will bear those costs going forward.

The bottom line of the forecast is that if the District keeps to its forecasted fiscal year 2023 budget it will see an operational surplus, allowing the District to

Ending Fund Balance            Surplus/(Deficit)                                increase its ending fund balances and help reduce the need for new money levies in the near future. The District will
have both its 2019 emergency levy and income tax levies expiring in 2026, requiring their renewal as early as November 2025. It is imperative for the long-term fiscal health of the District that it keeps its reliable sources of funding.

The full forecast can be found on the District website. Thank you for your continued support of Jefferson Local Schools. Go Roughriders!

A Message from the HS/MS

We have arrived at the mid-year mark and December 20th ends the second nine weeks. Grades will be available January6th which you can access on Progressbook. You can access Progressbook online through our website or download the App. Please see the instructions below on how to access the Progressbook App.

Introducing the ProgressBook Parent/Student Mobile App

The ProgressBook ParentAccess is going mobile! The goal is to involve parents in their children’s education and motivate the students to succeed. Reimagining the ParentAccess web portal launched in 2016, the ProgressBook Parent/Student mobile app will provide parents and students with everything they need to be informed about regarding the student experience right at their fingertips.

Parent Access

✔ View homework, grades, attendance, and missing assignments

✔ Access teacher comments, messages, and contact information

✔ Receive email alerts for low grades and missing assignments

✔ Update student contact data in real-time and download school forms provided by the district

✔ Link multiple student accounts for quick, single sign-on

Student Access

✔ See current grades, student averages, and year-to-date grades for each subject

✔ View assigned work and class resource links, including videos, audio, and documents

✔ View, download and print your current (and previous) report card in PDF format

✔ Stay organized using a weekly or monthly planner to view upcoming assignments

App Download and Log in

•	Visit the Apple App Store or Google Play Store and download ProgressBook Parent/Student
•	Use your existing ProgressBook ParentAccess login credentials to access your account. OR

•	 If you do not have an existing account, select create account. You’ll need your registration keys to set up. Don’t have your parent or student registration keys? Please contact your student's school secretarial staff.

West Jefferson HS was named one of the best high schools by US News and World Report!

December 4th: MS Band & Choir Concert

MS BAND	MS CHOIR

HS BAND	HS CHOIR

Fall Sports News

The West Jefferson HS/MS Athletic Department would like to give a post-fall season update for all staff and community. We were blessed with another successful season during the fall season and we hope to continue our competitiveness into the winter season!

To begin, I would like to give season records for our varsity fall teams.

Sport
	Wins
	Losses
	
HS Girls Soccer
	5
	11
	
HS Volleyball
	10
	13
	
HS Golf
	11
	7
	
HS Football
	5
	7
	
HS Boys Soccer¹
	7
	9

Note: Records include postseason play ¹ Also had two ties during the season

The High School Cheerleading team placed 2nd in the league cheer competition. Great work!

We have also had numerous student athletes earn postseason honors for the fall season. Here are their accomplishments:

First Team OHC
	
Autumn Lewis
	Kiera Piazza
	
April Sharp
	Kendra O’Harra
	
Zac Thompson
	Mason Book
	
Ethan Hostetler
	Owen Clerico
	
Sam Peters
		
Second Team OHC
	
Abby Nulph
	Isabelle Chaffins
	
Alyssa Kincade
	Jeff McClish
	
Rylan Archey
	Wyatt Keyt
	
Luke West
	Santino Carnevale
	
Honorable Mention OHC
	
Molly Mikulin
	Julia Beatty
	
Grace Ferguson
	London Bare
	
Jake Fitzpatrick
	Lazaro Santiago

Overall, our fall varsity teams had a very successful season. We had several teams play multiple rounds in the postseason, numerous student athletes achieve league and district honors, and teams reach wins/placing highs that have not been achieved in recent years!

Furthermore, our middle school athletic programs also performed very well highlighted by our MS cheerleading team winning the OHC middle school championship! Congratulations to the MS cheer student athletes and to all of our other student athletes for their hard work and dedication this past fall season. I am proud to work with these student athletes and coaches and cannot wait for the winter season to begin!

We here at Norwood Elementary School are excited to announce that the school’s Mentoring Program will officially begin on December 8, 2022. Both the high school students and the elementary school students were chosen from teacher and staff recommendations. This is an exciting opportunity for our elementary students to engage and build a positive relationship with student leaders from West Jefferson High School. This friendship-based mentoring program provides supportive mentoring opportunities for students. A mentor is a friend, role model, and a caring guide, someone who can encourage a young person on the road to academic and personal success. Mentors build supportive friendships with their mentees, helping the young person discover their strengths and guide them towards growth and success through sharing hands-on skills, life skills, experience, and friendship. We would also like to extend a huge thank you to the staff at West Jefferson High School for all of their support. This would not have been possible without you all.

If you are interested in being a mentor, please contact Jessica Thompson, jthompson@westjeff.org

Operations Update December 8, 2022

Jefferson Local Schools Operations Department has been very busy the first half of the 2022 - 2023 school year with behind the scenes projects including replacement of aging HVAC equipment and continuing to make our district energy efficient.

Notable Operations Projects Domestic Hot Water Boiler Upgrades

With our district buildings approaching 20 years of service since the renovation and additions project in 2006, the existing domestic hot water boilers at both facilities began to fail due to age. The district just completed replacing four 80% thermal efficient water heaters with 95%+ thermal efficient water heaters. These units provide hot water throughout each building for domestic use such as hand washing, showers, and kitchen needs.

Middle/High School Heating Boiler Upgrade

The Operations Department is currently in the process of completing upgrades to the heating hot water system at the Middle/High School facility. This includes the removal of two existing heating hot water boilers with thermal efficiency of 85% with one new heating hot water boiler with thermal efficiency of 96.2%. This project should be completed over winter break to minimize disruptions.

Central Office & Bus Garage Lighting Upgrades

The district just completed upgrading the existing interior T-8 lighting with energy efficient LED lighting. This project entailed removal of the existing T-8 troffers using an average of 6,144 watts of electricity and replacing them with LED flat panels using an average of 2,496 watts.

The district is in the process of preparing to upgrade the high bay lighting in the bus garage to more efficient LED lighting as well. Currently, the bus garage high bay lighting uses an average of 4,840 watts of electricity and we are planning to cut the wattage in half.

Norwood Elementary Fencing Replacement

Due to the age and condition of Norwood Elementary’s perimeter fencing along our Danbury Road neighbors, new fencing was just installed. This included removal of the existing fencing, cleaning up vegetation growing in the fence line and replacing the existing fence with new black vinyl coated fencing. The total length of replacement was approximately 620 linear feet.

Transportation Updates Preparing for Delivery of New Buses

In the last update we noted that our school district was awarded a grant to help cover approximately 45% of the cost to replace three of our aging route buses. Due to industry delays, these buses are now slated to arrive between December 2022 and February 2023. Once these buses go into service they will replace bus 7 which will become 14, bus 9 which will become 1, and a new preschool bus will be added to the fleet as bus 304. Prior to these buses taking over those routes, we will communicate these changes with parents.

Changes in Student Transportation Requests

Parents/guardians requiring changes or additions to their students' transportation should contact the Operations	Department	at	614-801-2195	or	bhiss@westjeff.org     to	make	these	changes. Parents/guardians must also update their students' information in Final Forms.

Questions/Comments?

If you ever have any questions or comments regarding our district facilities or transportation, please feel free to contact us at bhiss@westjeff.org.

We continue to wish you a successful 2022-2023 school year!

Robert D. Hiss, P.E.

Director of Operations

Jefferson Local School District