Auditor of State places Trimble Local School District in state of fiscal emergency

COLUMBUS — Auditor of State Keith Faber has placed the Trimble Local School District in Athens County in a state of fiscal emergency as a result of a projected operating fund deficit of nearly $3 million.

A fiscal analysis by the Auditor of State’s Local Government Services Section certified the projected operating deficit of $2,994,000, representing 24% of the district’s general revenue fund revenues for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2024. The district has not passed a levy to eliminate that deficit.

Under state law, the Auditor of State’s Office declares a school district to be in fiscal emergency when:

• An operating deficit has been certified for the current fiscal year by the Auditor of State, and the certified operating deficit exceeds 15% of the district’s general fund revenue for the preceding fiscal year.

• A levy has not been passed by the voting electors that will raise enough additional revenue in the succeeding fiscal year so that the first condition will not apply to the district in the next succeeding year.

With this week’s declaration, Trimble Local Schools will come under the oversight of a financial planning and supervision commission. Within 120 days of its first meeting, that commission, with assistance from the board of education and the community, must develop a plan to eliminate the fiscal emergency conditions.

The Auditor of State serves as the “financial supervisor” of the panel and will provide accounting training and assistance to ensure compliance with the recovery plan and various accounting rules and reports.

Trimble is the second school district in less than a year to be placed in a state of fiscal emergency, following Mt. Healthy City Schools’ declaration in April 2024.

Additional information about fiscal caution, watch, and emergency declarations for school districts is available online at ohioauditor.gov/fiscal/schools.html.