By Amantha Garpiel
For Miami Valley Today
TIPP CITY — The Tipp City Exempted Village Schools Board of Education received updates on the district’s end of year finances and the new building bond issue during its July 16 regular session meeting.
During the meeting, the board heard from Treasurer David Stevens about the monthly financial report, which included the end of year numbers.
According to the monthly financial report, the district ended the fiscal year with a negative fund balance of $1.63 million dollars. In the five-year forecast from May, it was predicted that the district would end the year with a negative fund balance of $2.3 million.
Stevens noted that $1 million of that negative balance is repayment to the self-insurance fund.
“Once again, it wasn’t that we lost money. We just didn’t increase (insurance) premium costs throughout the years,” said Stevens. “I will be updating the five-year forecast. It’s kind of now, in my office, a living document. I’m working on things as we go instead of just addressing it twice a year.”
The board also received updates from Stevens and Superintendent Aaron Moran on the new building bond issue.
District staff, including Stevens and Moran, met with representatives from Moody’s Rating, a financial service company, to present the district as a good investment and left with an AA3 bond rating, the fourth highest on a scale of 13 ratings.
The next steps for the district are to get an approval from the State Controlling Board for the final stages of the project. Which, according to Stevens, the district should receive by Aug. 19, after which the district can begin selling bonds.
The board also approved two advances from the general fund.
The first advance from the general fund is allocated to the previously defunct building fund in the amount of $88,270.
The second is an advance of $50,000 to the high school athletic fund. The fund ended the 2023-2024 year just above zero and the district hopes to have the advance reimbursed to the general fund through ticket sales, pay-to-play and any other high school sport revenues.
In other business:
The board approved a “then and now” resolution for fiscal year 2025 for July 2024. This is required by law due to an invoice received from HUDL for their services in tracking sports statistics that is dated June 1, 2024, when the district’s purchase order is dated July 1, 2024.
The writer is a regular contributor to Miami Valley Today.
