JEROMESVILLE — Hillsdale could be operating in the red by the end of fiscal year 2025, according to the district’s latest five-year financial forecast.
Lesa Deter, the district’s treasurer, presented the forecast at the board’s regular meeting Tuesday.
Deter forecasted that by the end of fiscal year 2025, the district would have more expenses than revenue by $534,718. By the end of the 2029 fiscal year, Hillsdale could spend upwards of $7 million more than it brings in.
Those numbers are consistent with Deter’s last five-year forecast, which the board approved in May. But, the district’s five-year forecast remains subject to change.
What change could impact the forecast?
Deter said Hillsdale’s five-year financial forecast could be completely rewritten should a settlement from the Rover Pipeline come in.
That pipeline’s construction provided the revenue necessary to build the district’s new school, which was completed in July 2023.
The Rover Pipeline is currently wrapped up in a lawsuit regarding its valuation for Ohio’s public utility personal property tax. Hillsdale Supt. Catherine Trevathan and Deter have said the pipeline is only paying 48% of its valuation currently. That’s enough for the district’s mortgage on the new building.
The lawsuit is ongoing, which means the district is uncertain of how much the pipeline will have to pay in the future. Trevathan told the board Tuesday the earliest a settlement is expected is in 2026. It could take longer.
The forecast could also be impacted if a pair of levy renewals voters recently split on at the ballot box fail to win approval.
One, a permanent improvement levy, pays for upgrades to buses, technology, cybersecurity issues and the district’s facilities, Trevathan previously told Ashland Source. The second levy is an operating levy. It pays for things like staffing, student supplies and keeping the school’s lights on.
On election night, the permanent improvement levy passed by a razor-thin margin and the operating levy failed. As of Tuesday, the permanent improvement levy’s passage remains in question. The Ashland County Board of Elections must conduct a recount after Wayne County votes were tallied.
The board of education still has two more opportunities to put the levies on the ballot before facing a budget shortfall. The earliest would be in a spring primary. Ohio has yet to set a date for its spring 2025 primary election.
