LOGAN — Declining enrollment rates at Logan-Hocking School District (LHSD) have Supt. Monte Bainter “very concerned” about the district’s future, despite its current financial position being relatively healthy.
Bainter presented on the issue of enrollment at Monday evening’s school board meeting, something that is set to face schools in Columbus and across the nation in the coming years.
LHSD’s total student population has dropped gradually over the last 25 years, and more precipitously in the last decade: in 2017, the district had 3,945 students; for this coming year, it is looking at a total of 3,428. This is a drop of over 13%.
The decline is expected to continue into future years, down to a projected-3,182 by the 2028-29 school year.
It is a problem in part driven by declining birth rates, hardly unique to Hocking County, but also by other factors specific to our area.
The Logan Daily News reported in October 2023 on the planned opening of a charter school in the county, with ties to the Christian, conservative Hillsdale College, and that may be one driving factor. But the larger reality is that, with the increased cost of real estate in and around the Hocking Hills, “we’re not attracting young couples to the district,” Bainter said.
The increase in property value and taxes in the county is exacerbating a further issue, where the district is receiving “less and less state funding than we used to get,” due to the relative wealth of its citizens. As of now, per student, the local share of funding slightly outweighs the state share.
District Treasurer Paul Shaw shed further light on LHSD’s financial situation projected out to the 2028-29 school year.
At this point, 2024-25 looks to be the last year in that span in which the district will operate on a budgetary surplus. The projected net loss for 2026 is projected to land over $1.5 million; in 2028, that figure grows to over $2 million. With that, its expected cash balance is set to fall from over $10 million, where it currently stands, to just over $4.5 million by the end of fiscal year 2028.
To put this in context, as of this upcoming year, the calendar days cash on hand for LHSD sits at 82, well above what Shaw deemed a “healthy baseline” of 60 days. In 2028, that number is projected to fall to just 30.
This financial outlook report was drawn up with expected cuts in mind, including reductions of four administrators, 12 teachers, and potentially some support staff as well.
As personnel makes up over 85% of the district’s total expenditures, the report notes, if “reductions in staffing are not made, the district’s financial condition will deteriorate materially.”
Further potential changes were discussed in the superintendent’s presentation.
The district’s preschool program, for instance, loses $650,000 annually. The deficit of preschool education is essentially in-built, as it receives no regular state funding, except through Ohio’s Early Childhood Education (ECE) grant, which must be applied for annually. Bainter went on to note a potential rise in tuition costs.
At the high school level, the school board had a discussion about the school’s College Credit Plus (CCP) and Advanced Placement (AP) offerings, and the possibility of reducing it to an every-other-year offering.
Perhaps the largest looming change in Monday’s discussion were redistricting scenarios for LHSD’s elementary schools. Four options were discussed here, the first three shuffling students toward Union Furnace and Hocking Hills Elementary, which have populations well below their potential operating capacity.
The fourth — just a “scenario,” Bainter emphasized, as nothing is set in stone — would be the outright closure or repurposing of Hocking Hills Elementary. This would involve a shuffling of its current population of 123 students, with Union Furnace and (to a lesser degree) Chieftain Elementary taking on the brunt of the change.
Hocking Hills Elementary currently operates under a total of $1.7 million per year. Its cost per student — around $17,000 — is over double the district’s average of $8,176 per student.
Though most of the school’s student population is in the West Logan area, such a change could place a transportation strain on students from in and around South Bloomingville.
It was noted in the meeting that this scenario would lead to a shuffling, rather than dismissal, of existing staff at the elementary school.
If closed, Ohio law insists that a school be offered at fair market value to a charter school before any other options are considered. There is, instead, the option to repurpose the school for a number of alternative education possibilities, and potentially utilizing its proximity to Hocking Hills State Park for outdoor educational purposes.
Bainter noted that it’s “business as usual next year,” with the school remaining open for elementary students. However, he added, ”We don’t expect its enrollment to change for the better.”
Email at rmorris@logandaily.com
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