What's the Buzz?
Fall 2024
Dear families and community members,
I hope this message finds you well as we move through another exciting school year! I’m pleased to report that we’ve had a great start. Our students and staff are already falling into their routines and working hard in the classroom, setting the tone for what promises to be a year full of growth and achievement.
In addition to academic progress, our fall sports and extracurricular activities are well underway. It has been wonderful to see our students succeed both on the field and in various activities outside of the classroom. Their enthusiasm and dedication are truly inspiring and contribute to the vibrant community we’re so proud to be a part of.
I am also thrilled to share some fantastic news regarding our district’s performance on the recently released state report cards. Monroe Local Schools received an impressive rating of 4.5 stars out of 5. This rating is a testament to the hard work and commitment of our students, staff and families. It means our district not only meets but exceeds state standards, ranking us among the top school districts in southwest Ohio and throughout the state.
As we approach the election, I want to take a moment to remind you about the bond issue that will be on the Nov. 5 ballot. This bond issue is the next step in addressing the overcapacity issues we are currently experiencing in our school buildings. By partnering with the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC), this bond will provide the funding necessary to build a new high school for our district.
The 3.49 mills on the ballot have been carefully planned to ensure that there will not be an increase in taxes for our community. This is made possible by our strategic funding plan in which the district will cover the cost until the current building bond is paid off in 2029. If the bond issue passes in November, the district will partner with the OFCC and begin design/construction in early 2025.
Bond financing plan in a nutshell
The proposed bond levy on the Nov. 5 ballot will request 3.49 mills to fund the planned debt for a new Monroe High School. The current debt for the building on main campus (grades 2-12) requires 3.50 mills to make the annual payments. The final payment for the current building will be made on Dec. 1, 2029, after which the 3.50 mills of property tax supporting that debt will no longer be collected, then, if passed, the 3.49 mills for the new debt will begin to be collected.
The levy must be passed in order for the district to receive the $25.3 million in state funding for this
project. The levy must also be passed before we can issue the new debt needed to fund the project. The new debt is estimated to be issued soon after passage with the first payment being due in June 2025.
So, how can we make payments on the new debt until the old debt is paid off?
The district has continued to experience new construction, commercial development, and higher values which have added to the tax base. Increased revenues combined with years of good fiscal stewardship have allowed us to reserve funds for capital project use. Those reserves, along with capitalized interest obtained through the bond issuance, will provide enough funding on a short-term basis for the district to make payments on the new debt until the old debt expires. We have met with both Butler and Warren County Auditors and they have agreed to delay collections on the new millage until 2029. Bottom line: passage of the bond issue won’t raise your taxes.
The Butler County Auditor has added a tool on its website to help illustrate the change in taxes for all November ballot issues. This can be accessed by searching your property record on the auditor's website and then clicking on Levy Calculator in the left-hand menu. A sample screenshot is included below.
Monroe Schools places a strong emphasis on its culture, which is central to both its education system and its work environment. Created by staff members in 2019, Monroe's Culture Playbook outlines three core beliefs that define our district's approach: Better Together, Relentless Effort and Stand Up and Own It. These principles promote collaboration, perseverance and accountability, which are vital for building and maintaining Monroe's culture. This school year, each edition of What's The Buzz will offer deeper insights into the behaviors and outcomes we aim to achieve through our beliefs.
High Thrive 🖐 Friday (video)
Monroe Junior High School students inducted into National Junior Honor Society
$13,536 is the amount raised from the Gold Out fundraiser. This amazing amount of money is being donated in honor of Madison Smallwood to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and the Madison J. Smallwood Foundation. Madison taught everyone around her to be a light and see the good in everything. We want this money to help other children fighting cancer find the treatments they need so they can continue their journey. This would not have been possible without the support of our Monroe community. We want to thank each and every one of you who contributed to the fundraiser and showed support to the cause. Continue Madison’s legacy by being a light to those around you.
From all of us, thank you.
Ohio School Report Cards were recently released by the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, and Monroe Local Schools once again earned a rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars, which equates to “exceeds state standards.”
ODEW’s 2023-24 rating identifies Monroe as the second highest achieving school district in Butler County; a rank it shares with Lakota. Monroe’s performance index score of 94.6 places it in the top 25% of Ohio school districts.
Superintendent Robert Buskirk called Monroe’s rating an outstanding achievement and credited it to a team effort across the district. “Although we are very proud of our students and staff for this great achievement, we continue to look at our current practices and strive for growth every year. Our building leaders, teachers and staff deserve all the credit for helping our students meet the high expectations and academic goals we set forth each school year. This outcome highlights the strength of our collaboration in supporting the learning and success of every student.”
The report card evaluates and rates Ohio school districts in five categories: Achievement, Progress, Gap Closing, Graduation and Early Literacy. Monroe earned between three and five stars in the various categories with three stars indicating the district “meets state standards;” four stars noting the district “exceeds state standards;” and five stars meaning the district exceeded expectations “by a larger magnitude.”
Monroe Local Schools was rated four stars in the Achievement category, which evaluates “whether student performance on state tests met established thresholds and how well students performed on tests overall.”
The second metric that the district was graded on was Progress, which “measures the academic performance of students compared to expected growth on Ohio's State Tests.” Monroe earned four stars in this category, and the State of Ohio reports that there is “significant evidence that the district exceeded student growth expectations.”
The Gap Closing component shows how well schools are meeting the performance expectations for students in English language arts, math and graduation. It also measures how schools are doing in supporting English learners to increase language proficiency, reducing chronic absenteeism for all students, and identifying gifted students and providing gifted services.
Data from the latest report card indicates that Monroe more than doubled its chronic absenteeism reduction goals for the 2023-24 school year. Monroe achieved the highest component rating possible, with five out of five stars in this category.
Monroe earned five stars for the Graduation component, which means its weighted four-year graduation rate of 96.5% “significantly exceeds state standards in graduation rates.”
"Monroe has made significant improvements, particularly in reducing chronic absenteeism from 21.4% to 19.1% over the past year,” said Curriculum Director Jody Long. “While we've improved student attendance through family engagement and communication, early literacy remains a priority. We are leveraging data and targeted interventions to tailor our instructional approaches to meet the diverse needs of our students more effectively, aiming to boost student achievement and overall academic success."