Is The Trimble School Distirict finished

[Green Beagle]

Though Tomcat Pride may live forever the Tomcats may be a thing of the past. The Athens Messenger has the Fork stuck in the Trimble School district. Cuts and big cuts are being made and sports will more than likely be one of those cuts. With that coming These kids will be able to move anywhere they would like without restriction if cuts or pay to play is made. What will happen. Athens now in the tvc, Morgan over the hill, Federal hocking in almost the same shape as far as the school district goes, NY has new facilities and is just over the hill. Sad news for Trimble....

[Anonymous Rutter]

Though Tomcat Pride may live forever the Tomcats may be a thing of the past. The Athens Messenger has the Fork stuck in the Trimble School district. Cuts and big cuts are being made and sports will more than likely be one of those cuts. With that coming These kids will be able to move anywhere they would like without restriction if cuts or pay to play is made. What will happen. Athens now in the tvc, Morgan over the hill, Federal hocking in almost the same shape as far as the school district goes, NY has new facilities and is just over the hill. Sad news for Trimble....

dont believe it. post a link to the story.

[Green Beagle]

..
The Athens Messenger - Front PageNewsLocal.Official: Fiscal emergency might be looming for district
StoryCommenting (0)ShareSend this page to your friendsPrintCreate a hardcopy of this pageFont Size:Default font sizeLarger font sizePosted: Thursday, April 15, 2010 8:38 am | Updated: 8:39 am, Thu Apr 15, 2010.

By DANALINE BRYANT Messenger staff writer | 0 comments

GLOUSTER — A state education official says that if Trimble Local School District doesn’t make substantial cuts in spending it’s headed for fiscal emergency status.

Tom Gumpf, Region 16 coordinator for the Ohio Department of Education’s Division of Finance, spoke at the Trimble Local School Board’s April meeting at the request of Interim Supt. John Costanzo.


Cant get the whole article, I dont subscribe..

[moonshine]

Consoildation will happen within 2 years. Sad but true look for most of the school to go to Nelsonville-York!

[L.R. Faires]

The proud alumni of Trimble Local will never let consolidation happen. I realize we are in dire straights, but we are fighters, and we will beat this. Things are going to turn around, and I believe the Cats will prevail. I am sure there are folks that would love to see the demise of Trimble, and that is sad. WE WILL PULL TOGETHER, AND WE WILL STRIVE. TOMCAT PRIDE!

[I smell bad]

Unfortunatly, Tom (Forrest) Gumpf says that every year about this time at Trimble. That is why the treasurer brings him in. Throw a little scare into the teachers and they will settle for what ever the board says they can afford. Every year it's the same thing. "If you agree to let us cut ___ (place number here) teachers you will be ok financially for a few years. If not you will have to close the doors..." Then the next year Forrest is back with the same speech. You will never make be believe that a school district in this area that has administrators making in excess of $100,000 a year is in that much financial trouble.

[Orange and Brown]

There are a lot of proud people in Trimble Township, and they will fight as hard as they can to keep there schools right where they are.

[NYBuckeye96]

Enrollment is down to 800 students in the entire district, and continues to decline.

Here is the entire article......

http://www.athensmessenger.com/news/local/article_f08b74b4-488b-11df-8a78-001cc4c03286.html

Official: Fiscal emergency might be looming for district

By DANALINE BRYANT Messenger staff writer
Posted: Thursday, April 15, 2010 8:38 am

GLOUSTER — A state education official says that if Trimble Local School District doesn’t make substantial cuts in spending it’s headed for fiscal emergency status.

Tom Gumpf, Region 16 coordinator for the Ohio Department of Education’s Division of Finance, spoke at the Trimble Local School Board’s April meeting at the request of Interim Supt. John Costanzo.

Gumpf gave two presentations on the district’s finances, staffing and enrollment — one to the board in closed-door session and one in open session to a large number of district employees who attended the meeting.

On March 16, Costanzo was appointed as unpaid interim superintendent after Supt. Cindy Johnston was placed on paid administrative leave. The next day he met with the district’s administrative team to discuss the remainder of the school year and begin planning for the 2010-2011 school year. Two days later, he called Gumpf and asked him to conduct an analysis of the district.

Tuesday night, before going into executive session, Costanzo said he’d asked Gumpf to speak at the meeting because he wanted everyone in the district to understand the results of the study and to know “where we’ve been and where we’re headed.”

“On March 19, I called him and said, ‘Tom, I need your help.’ I asked him to conduct an analysis of the district based on three variables: the number of students in the district, the number of staff members who serve those students and the amount of money the district has to buy those services,” Costanzo said.

Gumpf talked to the board in executive session for about 90 minutes, then spoke in open session for an hour.

All districts must file a five-year forecast with the Ohio Department of Education, and Gumpf used Trimble’s five-year forecast to conduct his analysis. He found that, while the district currently has surplus funds, as required by law, those funds won’t last long. The five-year plan shows that at the end of the current fiscal year the district will have $24,500 left from the year’s budget of more than $8 million.

“For a multimillion budget, that’s not much money to have left over,” Gumpf said.

When this year’s excess is added to money already banked as surplus funds, Trimble Local will have about $400,000 in savings, he said. A new fiscal year begins July 1, and Gumpf said most of those funds will be needed to meet the Fiscal Year 2011 budget, dropping the district’s savings to about $100,000.

Gumpf explained that with state aid decreasing to all local school districts, Trimble will be in a difficult situation without backup funds, especially since it’s showing a pattern of spending more money than it receives. He said in FY 2012, Trimble will have a possible deficit of $800,000, and that’s a situation state officials won’t allow to go unchallenged.

“If a school district is living within its means, Line 6 (of its five-year forecast) will always be a positive,” Gumpf said. “A school is not a profit-making operation, but as long as there is a positive number on Line 6, a school district will never go broke.”

A check of Trimble’s five-year forecast on the state education Web site shows that in 2013, the deficit will be more than $2 million and in 2014 will be more than $4 million, if preventative measures aren’t taken.

Gumpf said he didn’t bring his “crystal ball” and the figures he quoted were “purely projections” because other factors — such as two statewide votes that will take place in the intervening time and could negatively effect school budgets.

He said when the new fiscal year begins in July, state computers will identify the district’s looming budget crisis and the Division of Finance will take action.

“We’ll send your superintendent a letter saying he and the board have 60 days to tell me how they are going to take care of every dime of that debt,” Gumpf said. “And it can’t be a levy or installment plan. It has to be quantifiable.”

State officials will check to make sure Trimble’s financial records are correct. If the amount of projected debt is verified and the board has been “unwilling or unable” to provide a plan to eliminate it, Trimble will receive a “fiscal caution” warning — and another another 60 days to plan a way out of debt. If they again fail to do that, Trimble Local then will officially be placed on fiscal caution status and given another 60 days. If the district misses that deadline, it will be placed on fiscal emergency status and a state-appointed commission will be named to oversee district finances. The commission’s job will be to give dollar amounts to be cut from the budget and the Trimble Local School Board will decide what to cut to reach those dollar amounts. To get out of fiscal emergency, a district must show that it will be debt-free for all years of the five-year forecast.

Gumpf then explained what his analysis of student and employee numbers showed. Trimble’s total enrollment is 804 students; however, state law says that certain students, such as special needs students, cannot be counted toward staffing requirements and funding allocations because their instruction is funded in different ways.

When Gumpf subtracted those students and added in any who open enrolled into the district, Trimble’s enrollment dropped to 658 students. State law says there should be no more than a 25-1 ratio of students to teachers. Gumpf said that just as some students aren’t factored into the equation, some teachers also are not counted, such as physical education teachers, reading specialists, nurses and others.

When all these requirements were noted, Gumpf found that Trimble should have 26 teachers for its 658 students. Trimble currently employs 36 teachers and has a ratio of 18 students per teacher.

Additionally, he said state law limits specialized employees, such as nurses, social workers and others. Trimble is supposed to have 3.29 of these employees, but has 6.5.

While a reduction in certified staff usually ends a district’s financial crisis, it won’t be enough to save Trimble. The elimination of 10 certified positions would only result in about $700,000 in savings.

“I’ve never had this happen in my region before, and I talked to several colleagues, and they also had never had this happen,” Gumpf said. “I’ve been doing this for eight years, and I’ve always been able to find enough personnel to get rid of the debt. We’ve never seen this before. We cannot find enough personnel in this district to take care of the debt. … My purpose was to make sure (you) understand there is only so much you can cut from staff.”

Gumpf said open enrollment, the lack of local jobs and other factors have added to the district’s approaching financial crisis. He said the problem had been developing steadily due to a steady decrease in enrollment and other factors, but has now gone from “from a gentle slope to a nose dive.”

He offered to meet separately with certified and support staff, if their representatives ask him. He’ll also meet with Costanzo, building principals and other administrators soon to provide suggestions on how the district can address its financial situation.

Costanzo said plans for an upcoming school year usually begin in January, but he must do this in only two months. (Also, by law, contract employees who will not be rehired must be notified by a certain date.) Costanzo said he wanted Gumpf to speak Tuesday because it was important “to let you know what we’re facing.”

Costanzo and Gumpf both indicated the district will look at all expenditures — from transportation, to buildings and supplies, to personnel — as possible places to make cuts and said difficult decisions will have to be made.

One employee who’s also a district parent said if too much is cut more students will leave.

“Who stays then? My kids won’t, and I work for the district,” she said.

As Gumpf answered questions from the audience, he noted that people were upset to hear the information he brought.

“I know there is some emotion here,” he said.

Costanzo said he knows parents love Trimble Schools and want their children to be there.

“I was at a softball game, and a parent was there with his young child, who was about 18 months old. When I asked him what he wanted for his son’s education, he turned and pointed at the high school and said ‘I want my son to graduate from Trimble Local Schools.’ That’s a strong statement, and I’ve heard it over and over again,” he said.

Costanzo and board member Steve Miller stressed that no decisions have been made yet. They said the district will look at

“I understand what we presented tonight was painful for everybody, but we must move forward and do the best we can for children of our district and their families,” Costanzo said.

Costanzo said he will make recommendations to the board at the May meeting.

[Rutterkickballer]

Me and THE BROKER were talking about this last night. We have been told by a high ranking senior official from Nelsonville High School that when their new building is complete, we will be consolidating. Part of the agreement is that the new school will use Trimble's colors and mascot and that he new school will go back to being called Nelsonville High School... Also, word on the street is that the best coaches will get the jobs and that Phil will be the football coach because he has won more playoff games and TVC trophies than anybody else available......

[NYBuckeye96]

Phil will be the football coach because he has won more playoff games and TVC trophies than anybody else available......

TVC Hocking trophies aren't REAL TVC trophies!

[Heavy D]

Phil will be the football coach because he has won more playoff games and TVC trophies than anybody else available......

TVC Hocking trophies aren't REAL TVC trophies!

Some of those are Ohio Division trophies. The years when Phil beat the Ohio division champions.

[NYBuckeye96]

Well you can keep your trophies over in Glouster. When your nicest building - Trimble High School - becomes Trimble Elementary as part of Nelsonville schools, you won't even have to move the trophies!!!

The junior high and high school buildings in Nelsonville don't have room for any Hocking trophies!


Trimble/NY combined could give Athens a run for their money in most sports, as it would become the third largest school in the league behind Athens and Vinton County. Ironically, it wouldn't be any bigger than Nelsonville-York was in 1967 when Nelsonville and York combined.

[Heavy D]

When we become part of Nelsonville, we will retain our own high school building, school name and teams. The only change will be the raise in your taxes to help support our buildings.

[NYBuckeye96]

You don't need all those buildings anymore. You are down to 804 total students. You could squeeze the entire Trimble district into the high school building. It's still shrinking too. Think how small the enrollment might be in another ten years.

Just say no to Rutter Taxes!

[NYBuckeye96]

Trimble is shrinking so fast because the finest Rutters of Athens County are picking up and moving to the big city!!! Swimming pools. Movie stars.

[moonshine]

Trimble is toast!

[NYBuckeye96]

Here is a picture of one of the many Trimble families uprooting their lives in Glouster to move to the big city in search of their fortunes.....

[1987chieftains]

too funny. i needed that!

[FANOSPORTS]

The end is near. There are many posts on this over the last couple of years and it's gonna happen. The new school should call themselves the "Nelsontrimville City Buckcats".

[NYBuckeye96]

All joking aside, I have a few serious questions.....

1. The student population at Trimble has seen a steady decline over the years. Why haven't there been teacher layoffs over the years to reflect the loss of students? The article states that Trimble has 36 teachers, but by state standards, there should only be 26 teachers. 28% of the teachers at Trimble should not have jobs at Trimble according to state standards. Fewer students means fewer state dollars, so these positions should have been gradually eliminated over time. Instead, it appears they will all be eliminated at once, which would make a much larger negative impact then a gradual elimination over time would have had on the students.

2. How has Trimble managed to break state law with specialized employees? According to the article, state law says Trimble should only have 3.29 specialized employees, while the district actually has 6.5 specialized employees. If this is in fact state law, where was the oversight for these additional 3+ employees that should not be employed at Trimble?

3. The elimination of all extra employees will only result in $700,000 in savings. To run a school district properly, that is all that could be eliminated. The article states that Trimble will be $4 million in debt in 2014 with no changes. Eliminating all the positions Trimble can to be bare bones still puts the debt at over $3 million. That number would only increase in the years following. Where will these millions come from? The state funds schools based on student population, and Trimble's population is declining. This means Trimble will receive less money from the state in the coming years, which will only add to the debt. Similarly, this isn't as easy as passing a school levy. Trimble lacks an industrial base and a levy would almost all come from housing units. The property values in Trimble are low, even for southeastern Ohio. Can the citizens of Trimble afford the high taxes that would come from a levy that would pay off this debt? As the student population declines, a levy could turn out to be a temporary band aid and the district could find itself in a large hole again on top of increased taxes if the district continues to lose students.

4. According to the article, Trimble's student population is down to 804 students. For grades K-12, that averages out to 62 students per class. Of those students, the article states that 658 students are not special needs students. This equals 146 special needs students, or an average of slightly over 11 special needs students per grade from K-12. This equals out to over 17.5% of students at Trimble being special needs students. Is it just me, or is this an awfully high percentage of special needs students? Do other districts have that many special needs students? I don't know what the norm is for special needs students, but that seems like a high number to me.

5. Is it possible to close a building or two in the district? With the loss of students over the years, is it still necessary to have the elementary, middle, and high school buildings? You could save money by shutting down one or two buildings. What was the capacity of Trimble High School when it was built? I would think you could easily fit all junior high and high school students into Trimble High School. Maybe even the elementary students too, but I wouldn't think you would want kids that young mixed in with teenagers.

6. If taxes are raised significantly to help eliminate the debt, where will future operating funding come from? If taxes are so high, it will be hard to pass future levies for school facility renovations. Likewise, will anyone have money to contribute to athletic complex renovations? Trimble does not have any industry within the district to donate a large amount of money to fund athletic field renovations. How many more years can Glouster Stadium be used before it is deemed unsafe?

7. Will sports have to be eliminated to help eliminate the debt? What about other activities? There will have to be some very hard decisions and sacrifices made at Trimble in the next few years.