FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE TRACKING

What is The Cupp Report, and how does it help West Clermont track their financial performance?

The Cupp Report, now called the District Profile Report, is an annual financial report that provides a comprehensive overview of key financial and demographic data for each public school district in Ohio. It allows districts to compare their data to similar districts and state averages.

Available on the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce website for each school district, it provides data values for 60 variables and also includes two columns of comparison data values – one for similar districts and one for the state.

Information includes demographic data, personnel data, property valuation and tax data, local tax effort data, expenditure data, revenue by source data, and school district financial status data.

For West Clermont School District specifically, here are some key takeaways from the most recent report:

Demographics:

• West Clermont has a higher percentage of economically disadvantaged students (34.53%) compared to the state average (32.95%).
• The district has a lower percentage of minority students compared to state averages.

Local Tax Effort:

• West Clermont's local tax effort index of 0.8320 is below the state average of .9767, indicating residents provide a slightly lower level of tax support compared to ability to pay.

Expenditures Per Pupil: 

• West Clermont's Total Operating Expenditures Per-pupil in FY23 was $12,810.  This amount was less than the state average of $15,428 and that of similar districts average (those with similar demographics) of $14,475.
• When the 606 school distircts listed in the Cupp report are listed in order of the dollar amount per-pupil from highest to lowest, West Clermont is listed 509th.  West Clermont spends in the lowest 16% of the state.
• The district spends a total of 67.3% on expenses that are directly related to the class room:  Instructional Expenses (56.2%), Pupil Support (7.6%) and Staff Support (3.5%)

Revenues:

• 31.75% of West Clermont's revenue comes from the state.  This is below the state average of 40.46% and aligned with similar districts at 30.5%..
• The district receives less federal revenue per pupil ($1,445) than the state average ($2,154).
• West Clermont's local revenues (primarily property taxes) is 49.9% of total revenue which exceeds the state average of 40.3%.
• The revenue composition follows the inverse relationship whereby the greater the local wealth as measured by property values and income per student, the state contributes less to the school district.

Expenditure Composition:

• Salaries and benefits make up over 73% of the district's operating expenditures, compared to similar districts 84.3% and the state average of 79.2% .
• Purchased services on the other hand exceeds the state average mainly:  West Clermont 23.14%, Similar Districts 11.0% and the State average of 15.0%
• The above differences is primarily due to two factors:  1) lower teacher average salaries and 2) the cost of transportation which is contracted out rather than the district employeeing bus drivers.

In summary, the report shows West Clermont spends significantly less per pupil than similar districts and the state. The district revenues are driven by a growing local tax base and valuation.  The state support to schools is limited and capped by the state funding formula guarantee which for West Clermont, provides state funding comparable to amounts received in 2019.