Staff costs and state funding are expected to have an impact on the five-year financial forecast of the Olentangy Local School District.

The OLSD Board of Education will have a second reading of the forecast tonight.

While Ohio House Bill 64, approved in June 2015, does not have significant effect on revenue, school officials note that Olentangy has been and continues to be underfunded by the state.

State aid has remained relatively flat for more than a decade, while Olentangy was the fastest growing district in Ohio, according to school records.

“The current State funding formula calculates that Olentangy should receive over $48 million in state basic aid. Unfortunately, HB 64 also put a cap on funding growth of 7.5 percent for” the fiscal years, 2016 and 2017, according to a forecast overview.

“As a result of this new formula and the growth caps, Olentangy’s state basic aid per pupil is projected at just about $560 per pupil, while the state average is closer to $4,600 per pupil.”

Aside from state funding, recent changes will personnel costs will have an effect. The district has three unions: Olentangy Teachers Association, Ohio Association of Public School Employees for bus drivers and OAPSE for custodial, maintenance, and field service technicians.

The board approved a one-year contract with OTA for fiscal year 2018, which includes restoring pay based on experience from 2013 and a one-time stipend for teachers not employed during that same fiscal year at 2.25 percent. The board and OTA are now on one-year contract extension of its 2013 agreement, which will bring slaray increases at an average 2.7 percent for next year.

The board will negotiate with the OAPSE associations later in the fiscal year. A 1 percent base increase has been forecast from 2018 through 2021 for the remaining groups.