Impact of State Budget Cuts to Indian Hill School District
Dear Indian Hill Families and Staff:
I hope you and your family are doing well. I am writing to update you on the state of Indian Hill School District’s finances amidst this health crisis.
As you may have heard, the governor announced a $775 million state budget cut, $355 million of that total will come from a reduction in state funding to K-12 schools this school year, an unfortunate economic impact of the global pandemic.
We have received questions from our community about how this will impact the financial health of our schools. For Indian Hill, these reductions amount to $621,835 this fiscal year which ends June 30; some of that lost funding will be replaced with $78,579 in federal funding through the CARES Act.
What does this mean to the overall budget during a time when our expenses are already outpacing our revenue, and our District is already in need of operating dollars to maintain our educational services? Generally speaking, there is so much uncertainty that it makes it very difficult to predict what the future will look like. We are also unsure what this may mean for next school year, but we can anticipate more state budget reductions. The good news is that we have built a strong financial foundation to help us through this crisis.
Will there be changes to the delivery of education and the way we conduct business? Possibly. We will certainly have to continue to adjust the way we do business as a result of this pandemic. One thing that is certain is our commitment to maintaining a world-class school system and delivering enduring excellence in learning, leadership, innovation, and service.
We also pledge to continue analyzing all of our spending and to stretching our budget – just as we’ve always done. It is our hope that this ongoing commitment will enable us to navigate this challenging time, and protect the high quality of our schools as much as possible.
As more information is known, we will continue to communicate with you. In fact, expect to hear more about finances in the coming months. Communicating the financial health of our schools in a transparent manner with taxpayers has always been a priority, and I promise to continue that conversation with you.
Dedicated to the success of our Braves,
Mick Davis
Treasurer
Indian Hill School District
Posted May 7, 2020
Posted: Thursday, May 7, 2020