Trimble Local School District in southeast Ohio has been placed under fiscal emergency months after it asked the state to do so.
The small rural school district in Athens County faces nearly $3 million in debt, prompting the fiscal emergency status. The designation also requires financial oversight by a state-appointed financial planning commission.
NBC 4 News reports that the district had asked to be declared a fiscal emergency in December, which Ohio Auditor Keith Faber finally did on Thursday.
According to another report, the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce placed the district under fiscal caution in December after it failed to submit an “acceptable written proposal” required by state law to correct budget issues.
Trimble is the second Ohio school district found to be in fiscal dire straits by Faber in less than a year. In April 2024, Faber also placed Mt. Healthy City Schools in suburban Cincinnati under fiscal emergency.
Trimble’s financial problems started a few years ago, but district officials did not realize the severity of the deficit until last fall, NBC 4 News reports.
In September 2024, the district hired Ashely Miller as the new treasurer and CFO. Miller quickly discovered the extent of the district’s budget shortfall, including significant cash flow issues.
Several months ago, the Trimble district requested help from the state when it projected a growing deficit. Instead, Faber placed Trimble on fiscal watch, requiring the district to submit a plan to eliminate the financial crisis, The Center Square reported in January.
Miller was concerned that delayed state support would limit their ability to make payroll at the end of the school year. According to the article, the school board even passed a resolution noting that “the district could default on payroll and basic utilities in the next few months."
Despite months of work, Trimble’s deficit has no straightforward fix. The Center Square reported that an analysis from the Auditor of State’s Local Government Services Section put the deficit at $2.99 million.
According to emails between Miller and the Department of Education and Workforce, Miller found grants were overcharged by more than $1.5 million during fiscal years 2023 and 2024.
In addition, funds were never transferred from the district’s general fund to cover those expenses, making their financial status seem much more optimistic than it was, NBC 4 News reports.
Miller and the district spoke with the state and worked to make cuts wherever possible to continue making payroll and utilities.
In March, the district announced it would lay off 13 full-time and eight part-time employees to address funding concerns. The district employs 50 teachers, eight arts or gym teachers, and 13 special education teachers, NBC 4 reports.
Trimble Local Schools is located in Glouster, a small rural community on the edge of Wayne National Forest, about 75 miles southeast of Columbus. According to the website, Trimble has an 800-student population and a student-teacher ratio of 12.5 to 1.
Being placed under a fiscal emergency is the most severe stage of a school district’s financial problems. This occurs when a district’s operating deficit exceeds 15% of its revenue and the school system has not passed a levy to fix it, Faber said.
Trimble’s deficit is 24% of last year’s revenues. The district last attempted to pass a levy in November 2023, when voters rejected it, The Center Square reports.
The emergency designation required outside oversight by a five-member financial planning and supervision commission, which can assume some or all of the school board's power.
The local school board and commission must develop a plan to resolve the fiscal emergency within 120 days.
In the case of Mt. Healthy, the district’s financial woes were due to continued hiring and millions in building projects, resulting in a projected $90 million deficit by 2028, as previously reported by The Center Square. Faber recommended Mt. Healthy join another district.
An audit found that Mt. Healthy hired dozens of new teachers and staff and advanced $18 million for building projects without formal plans or funding to sustain operations.
