According to the memorandum (shown below) prepared by Kettering Schools’ Treasurer, Steve Clark, because property tax revenues and personal property taxes, so far this year, have been higher than predicted, the amount of tax collected in February for Kettering Schools is $1 million more than Mr. Clark originally predicted.

Mr. Clark, in his memo, warns that it may be April before Kettering Schools will know for certain the total amount of tax collected. Below is his memo and a truncated version of his financial report. (Here is a PDF of the full report.)

Kettering City School District

Memorandum

To:       Kettering City Board of Education Members, Superintendent, Directors, Principals, Supervisors, Administrators, Mike Bock

From:  Steve Clark, Treasurer/CFO

Date:    March 4, 2010
Re:        February, 2010 Financial Information (fiscal year 2010)

Enclosed is the fiscal year 2010 monthly spending plan report that compares projected and actual fiscal year-to-date general fund revenues, expenditures and unencumbered balances, through February, 2010, based on the five-year forecast (Revision 1007).

Year-To-Date (Y-T-D) real estate taxes were 3.0% ($1.2 million,) higher than anticipated through February.  However, don’t start spending the money; we haven’t received our February settlement yet. Last year the settlement was in April and the final general fund amount was $5.4 million. We still need to receive $4.1 million to meet the estimate for the year.  Since we only receive 90% of tax revenue collected from an advance, I estimate the County Treasurer has at least $2.4 million to distribute to us.

School foundation (state funding) was $365,000 (5%) higher than forecast.  It’s my understanding that when the Department of Education began paying school districts under the new funding formula in October, they actually paid a little more than was due at that time.  As the year progresses, that surplus should decline.  Last month we were 6% over the estimate so that seems to be the case.  The tangible personal property tax reimbursement remained over projections through February ($279,000 or 4%).

At the Young Turks is posted the transcript of a recent interview with Michael Moore.

Moore is predicting a financial crash. He says, compared to what happened in 2008, “We’re in for a much, much worse time. That’s how I honestly feel.”

And Moore reminds anyone who doubts his prediction power that he has made other predictions that proved to be true. He says, “I’m only the guy who said that there weren’t going to be any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and that we were being lied to.  And I’m the guy who 20 years ago made his first film saying that General Motors was a piece of crap company that was going to slide down the hill and bring us all down with it.”

Moore says our economic system is fundamentally flawed — “because I don’t think that in the 21st century the big decisions that need to be made should be based on profit.  They should be based on what we need as a society and what the world needs.”

And Moore says the system is rigged — “It’s rigged against the working person, and I just think that until we decide that we have to get away from that and into a more democratic economy–in other words, economic decisions that are made by our elected representatives as opposed to Wall Street, the banks, the Fed, etc., etc.”

The only hope Moore sees is to “Remove money from politics.”

He says, “We would have to start a movement where people will be running for Congress and for Senate and signing a pledge that states that they will not accept in their first run for election more than $25 or $50 from a person.  And after that, when they get in there, their number one priority is to remove funding of our elections from individuals who have the most money, and have it be federally funded like it is in most democracies.”

At their March 2 meeting, the Kettering School Board approved new contracts for 15 administrators whose contracts had expired. Most of the administrators on this list received a three year contract, some received a two year contract. The average of the initial yearly salaries of these fifteen contracts is $103,000 (ranging from $71,000 to $125,000). In addition, in each subsequent year of each contract, the salary amount of each contract will increase by $1500 or more.

According to this report, shown on Ohio Department of Education’s web-site, administrators in Kettering earn, on average, $96, 627 each year and teachers in Kettering earn, on average, $63,839 each year. (Added to these salaries is something on the order of 30% for retirement and health insurance benefits.)

Administrators work 220 days each year, or more, while teachers work 183 days. Salaries for both teachers and administrators are set by salary schedules, determined by years of service and by academic degrees. Here is the PDF showing how Kettering administrators’ salaries are calculated.

Also approved at the March 2 meeting were new contracts for school employees, whose contracts had expired, classified as “Administrative Support.” Here is the list of “Administrative Support” employees whose new contracts were approved at the March 2 meeting, and here is the pay schedule that shows how their yearly salary is determined.

I appreciate the fact that the Kettering School District is honoring my request to be provided copies of all reports given to each of the Kettering Board members, and copies of all other reports considered “public information” by Ohio’s sunshine laws. Now, before each board meeting, I receive the same packet of material given to the elected board members. I am paying 5 cents per page of material, and $1.00 for a DVD of each board meeting. (I now owe $6.45.)

In this week’s packet was a memo from the School Treasurer, Steve Clark, calling attention to a report by the Brookings Institution. The Brooking’s Report states, “Ohio ranks 47th in the nation in the share of elementary and secondary education spending that goes to instruction and 9th in the share that goes to administration.”

Clark in his memo emphasized that the Brookings Report recommends increasing administrative efficiency via the consolidation of school districts. The Report recommends the elimination of school districts in Ohio with less than 2500 students — reducing Ohio’s 611 school districts to 411 districts. Clark predicts this consolidation is unlikely to happen. And, he predicts the public will misinterpret the Report. “What we’ll hear,” Clark says, “is that school administrators’ salaries are too high.”

Superintendent of Kettering Schools, Jim Schoenlein, in his report to the board, tells how Kettering is preparing for state tests, and, he tells about plans for promoting the 6.9 mill tax levy ballot issue. Concerning the May 4 property tax issue, for 6.9 mills of additional property tax funding for Kettering Schools, Schoenlien urges, “Please continue to emphasize to your people: 1) We must be upbeat and positive 2) We need money and 3) Every day is levy day.”

Schoenlein also addresses Kettering’s hope to receive additional funding by participating in Ohio’s “Race To the Top” grant application. He writes, “We … will have to come to an agreement with our teacher associations on tying student growth data to teacher evaluations. Does anyone see a way to do this that might satisfy KCS, DEA, ODE, OEA, USDE ????”

His four question marks emphasize that Ohio’s grant proposal, if funded, is certain to be a challenge to implement. I looked up the grant proposal. It says:

Ohio’s plan for improving teacher and principal effectiveness will ensure rigorous, fair, and transparent evaluation systems that incorporate measures of student growth. As a collective bargaining state, these evaluation systems will be memorialized in negotiated agreements between the participating LEA and the teachers’ union. These comprehensive evaluation systems will provide constructive and timely feedback to teachers and principals and will serve as a guide to professional development and advanced opportunities for educators. Decisions regarding advanced licensure and removal of ineffective teachers and principals will also be based on the evaluation system.