Most months, my financial report is pretty boring. We brought in this much money and we spent this much money, etc. However, this month I have some really exciting news to share with you.

The Ohio State Report Cards for Schools were recently released. Monroe Schools were once again rated “Effective” and we narrowly missed being rated “Excellent.” This means that we are doing things right. My exciting news is that we are doing things right on a budget. Monroe had the lowest Expenditures per Pupil in the County! For the 2006-2007 School year, Monroe’s expenditure per pupil was $7,792. This is much improved over the previous year when our expenditure per pupil was $9,586. Spending has been closely monitored this year to ensure that district finances have been spent wisely and efficiently.

Here is the list of other districts in Butler County. The state average expenditure per pupil for 06-07 was $9,343.

For the October financial report: As of October 31st, Monroe has collected a little over $6.8 million and spent a little over $5.6 million. We have now fully collected our final property tax payments from the county for this calendar year and won’t receive the beginning payment for 2008 until early spring. The $1.2 million difference at the end of October will slowly dwindle as we use this to get us through the lean winter months. I know that sounds sort of cheesy, but it is basically true for schools. There will not be much money coming in during the months of November through February since the bulk of our revenues are property taxes. My reports for November, December, and especially January should reflect a much smaller end-of-month balance. Once we get our first half payments in early spring, we will have the cash to get us through the end of the school year.

Now to switch gears, as we approach the end of the calendar year, many of us become nostalgic and reminiscent about the past twelve months. With Christmas quickly approaching, I am no different. There have been many changes this past year for Monroe Local Schools with 2007 bringing the upcoming retirement of a superintendent and the employment of a new treasurer.

I want to finish this month’s article with a little information about the recent search for a new superintendent. There has been some confusion about the steps that the Board took to secure the next superintendent. I have to say that I have been very impressed with the procedures that the Board of Education took to find our new superintendent.

The Board held a series of meetings to find out exactly what the people within this district wanted for the new leader of Monroe Schools. Dan Hare, Butler County Superintendent, held a forum with the teachers and staff of Monroe Schools and an additional forum with all of the school administrators. Mr. Hare and the Board also held a community forum to gather input from members of the community.

Once the members of the Board knew what to look for, they went through all 15 received applications and narrowed the field to six to interview. Once these six had been interviewed, the board then went about conducting background checks and speaking with references for each applicant. As the treasurer, the Board graciously invited me to participate in the search for the superintendent. I personally spoke with the treasurer of the districts where each of the applicants is currently employed. This gave me excellent information to share with the board about the applicants and their working relationships with their peers.

All of the information gathered enabled the Board to further narrow the field to three individuals to invite back for second interviews. Each of these candidates would make an excellent superintendent and a second interview would help decide which applicant would best fit Monroe. I am sure that this was a difficult decision for the board members. However, I am convinced that they made the best decision with Dr. Elizabeth Lolli. I am very excited about working with Dr. Lolli. I have had the opportunity to spend time with her since the decision was made and I am certain that she will bring Monroe the final few steps to becoming an EXCELLENT school district.

If you as taxpayers ever have a question or concern about the finances or financial condition of Monroe Local Schools, I encourage you to attend a board meeting or to contact me. I would love to answer your questions. I can be reached at the Board of Education 539-2536 or kthorpe@monroelocalschools.com. Have a wonderful holiday season!