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District finance staff: five-year forecast largely unchanged after $575,000 unexpected tax payment
Summary
District finance staff presented an updated five-year forecast for Westerville City (Regular School District), saying general fund revenues are largely unchanged since February, noting a $575,000 higher-than-expected earned income tax payment and possible timing shifts in Franklin County property tax settlements that could move revenue into FY2027.
District finance staff presented an updated five-year forecast for the Westerville City (Regular School District), saying the district's general operating fund revenues are largely unchanged since the February update and that state sources make up about 26.1% of the fund while local and other sources account for about 73.9%.
The presenter, identified in the meeting as Marshall (a district staff member), told the board the district received its first earned income tax payment from the Ohio Department of Taxation that was about $575,000 higher than the Department's estimate, a variance she said was driven by timing rather than an updated statewide estimate. "It was a little bit higher than the amount that the Department of Taxation was estimating... it's about 575,000 more," Marshall said.
Marshall also described adjustments to property tax estimates after the district received its settlement sheet from Delaware County but not yet from Franklin County. She warned that the missing Franklin County settlement sheet could affect the district's state reimbursement for homestead and rollback programs and might shift roughly $14,830,000 in state-share local property tax into fiscal year 2027 depending on when the payment is finalized.
On expenditures, Marshall said a new state budget law requires the district to reflect fiscal year 2026 as the current year and that the forecast now includes three projected years plus an added FY2030 to preserve a five-year view. She characterized most recent changes as timing-related, noting an overall forecasted expenditure decrease of approximately $480,000. "Overall, not a big change to the forecasted revenues," she said.
When a board member asked Marshall to remind attendees about agenda item 5.01, the operating transfer out, she explained that the district moved certain expenditures into a capital projects fund to increase transparency. Marshall said the transfer primarily reallocated items such as severance payments and capital-project spending out of the general fund for clearer reporting.
Marshall said staff will continue to track changes stemming from state budget actions and property tax reform and will keep the board and the community informed as the year proceeds. She also announced that district staff, including herself and Heenberger, are working to form an administrative legislative committee to educate the community about legislative matters affecting public education, funding and policy.
No formal vote or motion related to the forecast or the committee formation was recorded in the transcript; the presentation concluded and the board moved on to other agenda items.
