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School districts in Ohio utilize a Five-Year Forecast document to budget our use of taxpayers' support to provide students with learning opportunities, highly qualified staff, strong learning environments, extra-curricular opportunities, and specialized programs.   We believe strongly in our students’ ability to achieve and make an incredible impact in our community.  We know the incredible in school learning and out of school learning opportunities we provide prepare our students for the dynamic world they will change as our students enter the workforce, post high school learning, and the armed forces.  

The Five-Year Forecast is a document driven by numbers and calculations, based on costs and driven by assumptions.  The Forecast was completed both in November, 2022 and May, 2023.  The Forecast is used as a tool and completed twice a year.  It is continually monitored to ensure the district is being good stewards of taxpayers money and utilizing the funds to support the growth and achievement of our students.  Upon completion of the Forecast it is submitted to the Board of Education and the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) for review and approval.

Revenue Overview: 

The District's largest revenue sources are real estate and state funding.  These revenues account for nearly 90% of our total revenues.  The District will have an emergency renewal levy on the ballot this November.  This levy is not a new tax and will continue to support the infrastructure of our district, including our buildings, buses, technology, and learning materials for our students.  The last renewal levy was passed in 2019 and generated roughly 1.5 million dollars.  Beginning in 2022 Ohio adopted the Fair School Funding Plan (FSFP).  Funding is calculated on a base cost methodology that utilizes four components determined necessary to the education process.  The district continually advocates for our district through many avenues including the Department of Education, the Governor's Office, and the State Legislature.  Our efforts this school year have enabled us to positively impact our pathway forward but with rising costs, we will need to consider future levy options within the next year.  

Expenditure Overview: 

As the effects of the pandemic have lessened, the impacts continue to still be present today.  The financial environment for all individuals is difficult today.  Costs continue to rise, supply chains have decreased, and high inflation has continued to impact each and every one of us in Sandusky.  This environment has also impacted the district significantly.  Our costs have increased during this time as well and continue moving upward each day.  Salaries and benefits account for approximately 80% of our total expenditures.  We are a people business.  We invest in individuals who invest their time, experience, and talents with our students, so that all of our students have the opportunity to grow, achieve, and reach their full potential.

Capital improvements are made possible due to the Emergency Levy passing in 2019.  These funds enable the Sandusky City School district to purchase many things such as new textbooks, buses and transportation equipment, 21st century upgrades for technology and technology equipment. It also allows for the district to update and maintain all school buildings/facilities, parking lots, roof repairs, Strobel Field, and many other capital improvement projects in order to best provide our students with the state of the art environments to learn, practice, and perform.  

The district’s May Five-Year Forecast holds a positive balance through the year Fiscal Year, 2025, Beginning the 2024-2025 school year deficit spending will begin.  Deficit spending is the amount by which spending exceeds revenue.  This will erode the district’s financial stability over the next few years, which is why we are continually reviewing our expenditures, and options to limit expenses and reduce costs while still maintaining strong and diverse offerings for all students.  This pathway of increasing expenses, will cause us to consider future levy options with the community in a very short time period.  We appreciate your continued support of our district, students, staff, and each other.  We are fortunate to have you on our team making us better together each day.  

Sandusky City Schools Five-Year Forecast: May 2023 

Forecast Summary: District expenses will continue to increase through fiscal year 2027, while  district revenues will decrease through fiscal year 2027.  The district is anticipating a decrease to our reserves resulting in a decrease to the cash balance beginning in fiscal year 2024. The anticipated cash balance is negative $1.1 million in fiscal year 2026. These figures are based on the emergency renewal levy passing. If the emergency renewal levy does not pass, the cash balance in fiscal year 2026 is anticipated to be a negative $3.2 million. 

The full forecast report can be found at https://www.scs-k12.net/Downloads/Sandusky%20CSD52023.pdf

If you have any questions: please contact:

• Treasurer Yvonne Anderson at [email protected] 

  • You can also call Treasurer Yvonne Anderson at (419) 984-1006

• Superintendent Daniel Rambler at [email protected].  

  • You can also call Superintendent Daniel Rambler at (419) 984-1000

Have you noticed all the activities happening in Sandusky City Schools this summer?  We have had numerous summer school activities and programs for students, athletic camps, professional development for staff, and our maintenance department has been busier than ever getting the buildings ready for the students in August!  Our bus drivers are transporting students to various summer activities, and our Human Resources Department is still busy interviewing and hiring employees.  Below are just a few of these district-wide activities, programs, and projects:  

SCS’s maintenance department has been hard at work with school building improvements.  The Aquatics Center site preparation efforts will begin this August in the parking lot behind the High School.  You can follow the progress of the Aquatic Center online at:  https://www.scs-k12.net/SchoolFacilities.aspx  The floors in the school buildings were cleaned, stripped, and waxed.  The fire alarm, fire extinguishers, sprinkler systems, and kitchen hoods were inspected in every school building.  Trees in the front of Strobel Field were removed as the trees were dying out and the root structures were impacting the outside structure of the stadium.  A new shed outside of the Sandusky Early Learning Academy was built by SHS Career Tech, and installed by the SCS District Maintenance.   

The Transportation Department also has been very busy this summer.  As stated, providing those summer programs with safe, reliable rides and deep cleaning our entire fleet inside and out! We also have some very exciting news concerning busing in the fall. Through a grant, we were able to add GPS units to our entire fleet. This will allow parents, if they choose, to download and register with the free app giving them the ability to know in real time where the buses assigned to their students are. This app will be available for our public school students and the private and community school students that we transport!  We will also be able to improve accuracy with times and stops. If the bus is delayed, possibly due to a train, the office will be able to send a push notification (text) to all the parents that the delay will affect. This will be reassuring on rainy or snowy days when we don’t want our kids standing at corners any longer than necessary!

This summer SCS hosted many student and staff learning opportunities.  Our SCS employees were able to attend many different learning sessions spanning multiple grade levels.  Topics included crisis prevention, Dyslexia training, new curriculum training, writing projects, math alignment, and gifted training to name some of the topics.  

Our Sandusky City School employees have been busy providing food, bussing, and instruction to our students.   SCS offered sessions to all grade levels spanning  from preschool through high school throughout the months of June, July, and August.  Over 600 student registrations were received to take advantage of more than 30 learning sessions.  Some of the sessions included robotics, STEAM camps, third-grade reading tutoring, academic recovery, career discovery, swimming, Arts experiences, summer musical, basketball, football, tennis, cheer, and volleyball to name only a few. This year bussing was provided for most of the summer sessions, which allowed more of our students to participate and we hope to expand that service next year.  

Finally, be sure to register to vote for the November Election.  You can visit the Erie County Board of Elections for more information:  https://www.boe.ohio.gov/erie/voter-registration-information/how-to-register/

You are qualified to vote if:

• you are a citizen of the United States

• you are at least 18 years old on or before the day of the general election. If you will be 18 on or before the day of the general election, you may vote in the primary election for candidates only, but not on the issues

• you will be a resident of Ohio for at least 30 days before the election

• you register to vote at least 30 days before the election

The district will have our Renewal levy on the ballot in November.  It is important you know this is NOT a new tax.  Thank you for your continued support of Sandusky City Schools and each of our students.