Author: Stacie Raterman

In one Summer School opportunity, parents and students from five different elementary schools both attend classes together.  They begin the evening with a shared family meal and then move into break-out groups.  Taught by Hilliard teachers, students receive math and literacy instruction while parents learn about strategies they can use to support their students at home.  The families also receive resources they can take home and continue to learn together all summer.  These classes help build relationships with our families and teachers, which ultimately help students become stronger learners.

Join us in congratulating the 2023 Hilliard City Schools Retirees.  We hope the next chapter in their lives brings joy and excitement, and our entire community appreciates all they have done to help our students prepare to be Ready for Tomorrow.

This is year, we are recognizing 40 retirees from across the district who gave hundreds and hundreds of years of service to Hilliard City Schools.  Thank you, you have been an important part of this school district, and we are excited to acknowledge your contribution to the success and development of literally thousands of students.

 

Kimberly Nees                      Leslie Salamony

David Speaks                       Sharon Thobe

Julie Volbert                          Lee Wilkinson

Lynn Wilson                          Todd Heinlen

Betsy Bargar                         Kathryn Corson

Jean Shackle                        David Swallie

Gaye Cline                            Joseph Burke

Julie Cannell                        Sandra Nagy

John Riggs                            Richard Thorpe

Andi Cunningham                Jodi Korbas

Stephanie Miles                   Angela Stafford

Gregory Harrison                 Amy Smedley

Barry Bay

Twice yearly, Ohio’s public schools must approve a 5-year financial forecast. Hilliard Schools’ latest forecast was approved on May 18, showing careful planning amidst potential revenue challenges. Here are some essential details: 

 

The Current Revenue Landscape

• State Funding: The Fair School Funding Plan, enacted in 2021, aims for more equitable funding for Ohio schools. The state aid is determined based on 60% local property valuation and 40% household income. However, as the plan was only partially funded in the last budget cycle, it’s still uncertain what it will mean for Hilliard Schools. Early projections suggest flat state funding for our district.
• House Bill 920: This 1976 law prevents districts from collecting increased funds even as property values rise. Despite this, Hilliard Schools has managed its funds wisely, not seeking additional operating money since 2016.
• Inflation: Rising inflation rates put added pressure on school budgets. Combined with HB 920, this likely leads to deficit spending as expenditures outpace revenues. However, schools are expected to manage their cash balances wisely and are prohibited from operating with negative cash balances.

 

Managing Administrative Costs

Contrary to rumors, Hilliard Schools has minimized administrative costs, even eliminating seven administrative positions over the past three years. The cut positions save the district close to one million dollars a year. This places us with the lowest administrative expenditure per pupil in Franklin County.

 

Deficit Spending and the Forecast

Deficit spending reflects the challenges of rising costs and restricted property tax growth rather than financial mismanagement. Hilliard Schools has carefully built a cash balance over the years, which is now utilized as costs exceed revenues. This prudent fiscal planning allows us to stay off the ballot asking taxpayers for more money only when it is absolutely needed.

 

We appreciate our community’s support as we navigate these financial uncertainties. We are committed to keeping you updated on our financial status. You can find our latest financial reports here.

The Hilliard City School District is in the process of adopting a new K-5 Math resource called Imagine Learning Illustrative Math. During the next two weeks, the Board of Education and the community will have the opportunity to preview this new resource. We invite all families and the community to preview Imagine Learning Illustrative Math, and if so desire, use the Feedback Form to provide feedback. Clicking on this link will provide a preview for our families. A sample display of the curriculum resource by grade level will also be available at Central Office on March 27-30 and April 10-14. Visitors may come in person to preview the samples between the hours of 9:00 am-11:00 am and 2:00-4:00 pm. 

As we head into the new year, a time of reflection and for celebrating great things to come, I wanted to celebrate some of the wonderful achievements of our Hilliard City School District.  This past year our district performed proficient or above in eighteen out of twenty academic achievement metrics on the Ohio Report Card.  Better still, on sixteen of the eighteen categories where we were proficient or above, we also surpassed the statewide average.  Metrics like these place us within the top-performing quartile of all school districts in Ohio.  We are an incredibly high academically performing district, and partially due to this fact, as well as many others, the district was voted to be one of the top three public school districts in Central Ohio in the Columbus Dispatch’s Best Of Columbus survey.  That is a tremendous feat, and one that we could not have accomplished without the expertise of our educational professionals, the high expectations set by our administrators, the hard work of our support staff, support and love that parents of our district give their children at home, and of course the determined mentality of our students striving towards success.  While we will always have more work to do, and while we will never rest on our laurels, we must also take time to celebrate the tremendous academic heights our district has proven capable of.  Congratulations to everyone, because this is truly a community victory.  Together we will accelerate into the future of HCSD.  Thank you all and happy new year!

Brian Perry is a member of the Hilliard City Schools Board of Education.

If you wish to request that a book or resource not be checked out to your student from their Innovation & Discovery/Media Center, you must complete the form below. Each submitted form will accept up to 10 book titles/author’s names. Please go to the Destiny Discover catalog on your child’s school website under Academics > Innovation Discovery Center OR Media Center to verify that the book/resource currently exists at that location before submitting this form.

Your submission will be shared with your child’s school and added to your child’s information record in Destiny (Library Resource System) only if that item exists at that location. Items submitted through this form will be on your student’s Destiny record for the course of the current school year only. Should you wish to have books/resources exempt for your student next year, you will need to submit this form again for each item.

Click here to access the Form.