Twinsburg board: ODEW flags ~$730,000 FY2028 shortfall; district points to $8M-to-$700K cuts

The Twinsburg City School District board heard an update on the district’s fiscal forecast at its Dec. 10 meeting after the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (ODEW) notified the district of a potential deficit in fiscal year 2028.

District officials said the newest forecast shows a projected shortfall of roughly $700,000 (the ODEW notification lists a projection of negative $730,243). Board members emphasized that the letter is an early-stage review meant to help districts develop plans to avoid formal oversight, not to impose immediate sanctions.

Board materials presented actions already taken to narrow the gap. Presenters listed a suite of cost-cutting and structural changes that reduced an earlier projection of more than $8 million to the current figure, including a targeted retirement incentive (cited as approximately $1,900,000 in savings across FY26–FY28), unfilled retiring positions, hiring at lower step placements where appropriate, and prior position reductions described as saving about $1.7 million annually. Administration said those savings were incorporated into the revised five-year forecast submitted in October.

The board scheduled a finance committee meeting Dec. 17 for a deeper review and was told the superintendent and treasurer will present recommendations in January. Separately at the meeting the board approved routine financial business by voice or roll-call vote, including acceptance of the October financial reports and reconciliations; those approvals were recorded as carried unanimously.

The board framed the next steps as analytical and procedural: staff will continue to identify further cost reductions, evaluate potential new revenue, and — if needed — prepare a formal plan for ODEW that demonstrates how the district will eliminate the projected FY2028 deficit.

What happens next: The board’s chair said recommendations will be presented in January and the treasurer will file subsequent forecasts; the finance committee will continue oversight and report back to the full board.

Attribution: The ODEW notification and forecast numbers were referenced in board presentation materials made available to trustees and described aloud during the meeting; specific dollar figures and the retirement-incentive savings were presented by district staff during the public portion of the meeting.