GLOUSTER, Ohio — The Ohio Auditor of State formally declared the Trimble Local School District to be in fiscal emergency on Tuesday, April 8.
According to the declaration, the state auditor has certified the district’s $2.9+ million deficit for this fiscal year — $1.3 million more than initially projected.
The declaration comes after the district approved more than 20 layoffs in March, effective June 30.
The fiscal emergency designation makes the district eligible for state assistance to address the deficit.
To be declared in fiscal emergency, a district must have a deficit that represents over 15% of its general fund revenue from the prior fiscal year. Trimble’s deficit this year represents 24% of its 2024 general fund revenues, according to the auditor of state.
The district will now form a financial planning and supervision commission, which may assume all or part of the powers of the board of education, and develop a financial plan for the district’s fiscal recovery.
The commission is comprised of five members, including:
- The director of the Ohio Office of Budget and Management (or representative).
- The director of the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce.
- A district parent whose child is currently enrolled; appointed by the state.
- A district resident (home or business) who has “financial expertise;” appointed by Gov. Mike DeWine.
- A district resident (home or business) who has “financial expertise,” appointed by the Trimble mayor.
At least three commission members are to be identified by April 23. Trimble Local Superintendent John Hurd said at a special meeting on April 2, that he has already received letters of interest from Trimble residents who want to serve on the commission.
Within 120 days of its first meeting, the commission will adopt a recovery plan “to eliminate fiscal emergency conditions, balance the budget, avoid future deficits, and restore the school district’s ability to market long-term obligations,” according to the auditor of state.
According to a press release from the state auditor’s office sent Wednesday, Trimble is the second school district in less than a year to enter into fiscal emergency. The other district is Mt. Healthy City Schools, located in Hamilton County.
How the deficit exploded
An April 2 special meeting of the board of education featured a presentation by Michelle Wears, Southeast Chief Project Manager at the Auditor of State’s Local Government Services.
Before an audience of about 50 people, Wears showed some of the behind-the-scenes work — lots of numbers and spreadsheets — that led the state to place the district’s deficit at $2.9 million. She also shared the district’s financial forecast, which corrected errors made from 2022 to present.
The board unanimously adopted a resolution to formally declare its deficit, based upon the state auditor’s office’s findings.
Hurd partially attributed the deficit to overexpenditures that went unnoticed because of repeated turnover in the treasurer position: The district had three treasurers in two years. The errors left the district with the impression that it had more money than it actually did, Hurd said.
“At the end of ’23 in May, we were projected to have a $4.5 million carryover,” Hurd said.
It wasn’t until the district hired current Treasurer Ahsley Miller in September 2024 that it discovered the impending crisis.
In addition to its deficit, Trimble also is also facing a large bill from the Athens-Meigs Educational Service Center, Wears noted. The Independent has placed a public records request for documents indicating the debt and the services for which the district sought.
The district’s massive deficit comes amid federal and state funding cuts to public education. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, for fiscal years 2021–2022 the district received 70% of its revenue from state funding and 18% from federal funding.
Miller noted at the special meeting that it often takes districts years to exit from fiscal emergencies.
Trimble Local Teachers Association President Rexford Millhone said April 2 that the recently approved teacher layoffs represented 17.3% of the district’s workforce. After the auditor’s presentation, he voiced concern for the years to come.
“I think it’s gonna be a long time before this is back to what it used to be,” he said. “We’ve cut 12 already and I know that we’re cutting more — I just don’t know how much more.”
The Trimble Local Board of Education will meet on Thursday, April 17, at 6 p.m. at the Trimble Local School District Office, 1 Tomcat Drive, Glouster.
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