Staffing one of the highest costs for Springfield schools

Costs exceed revenues

Revenue sources include property tax (21.9%), state aid (49.5%), federal aid (10.3%), investment income (1.7%) and other (16.6%), while expenditures include wages (44.7%) and benefits (18.9%), purchased services (7.9%), supplies (7.1%), insurance claims (12.1%), capital (4.9%) and other (4.6%).

Projections for the current fiscal year include revenues totaling approximately $112.8 million with expenses totaling approximately $125.5 million, according to the district’s monthly financial report.

The district’s projected revenue for the year is largely consistent with original estimates from May, with some exceptions.

The monthly report stated year-to-date expenditures are aligning closely with projected estimates, but “maintaining a balance between staffing needs and financial sustainability continues to be a key focus in managing the district’s budget.”

Strong reacts to school closing

To reduce spending, the district is closing the School of Innovation (SOI), to which 59 of the district’s staff members are assigned. Salary costs are approximately $1.8 million for the school of about 116 students, although some of these staff are support services assigned to multiple buildings, according to a district spokesperson.

SOI’s closing has evoked strong reactions from students and families. Some who commented that they felt the district is paying more money and attention to athletics and unneeded renovations than to SOI students.

Myra Star, who has a grandson in the ninth grade, said she doesn’t understand why SOI is closing, especially with the money she read the district spent on athletics, and would like school officials to reconsider.

“I think it’s a real slap in the face to the students and the families ... I think they’re telling students that they don’t matter. That’s going to affect them long term,” she said.

Expenditures follow Ohio law

Superintendent Bob Hill said the district is not making decisions “based on preference for one group of students over another.”

“The district acknowledges the very real impact these decisions have on SOI families and does not minimize those concerns,” Hill said.

Hill said that the assertions the district is allocating more financial resources or attention to athletics or discretionary renovations rather than to SOI are “inaccurate and are not supported by financial data or by Ohio law.”

“School funding structures are complex, and the district recognizes and respects the passion demonstrated by students in expressing their perspectives during this process. That said, the conclusions being drawn do not align with statutory requirements, fiscal realities or the documented allocation of resources across district programs,” he said.

Athletics serve 1,155 students in the district at a per-pupil cost of $617, which includes all coaching stipends and operating expenses, compared to the SOI, which serves 116 students at a per-pupil cost exceeding $20,000, which is more than 32 times higher, Hill said.

Some of the district’s funds can only be used on renovations and repairs.

Under Ohio law, permanent improvement dollars can only be used for capital purposes such as construction, renovation, major repairs and the correction of deferred maintenance issues, and cannot be used for instructional staffing, classroom operations or day-to-day costs.

“As a result, athletic facility renovations did not take money away from SOI and could not have been redirected to keep the program open,” he said. “Eliminating or significantly reducing athletics would not resolve the structural cost challenges associated with SOI, but it would remove supervised opportunities and supports from a far larger group of students.”