The Board of Education’s Community Roundtables event for Fall ‘24 is in the books, but the hard work within the 5-Year Strategic Plan is just beginning. And we need YOUR input.

On September 5, an impressive crowd of 80 packed the Masonry Institute hall in Richmond Heights to hear a presentation on the intricacies and challenges of school district finances. MRH Chief Financial Officer Chris Hoelzer opened the session with an overview of revenue sources and expenses, noting that salaries and benefits constitute the lion’s share of expenses in every budget and are increasing each year. Hoelzer also outlined programmatic expenses which are unique to MRH, such as the building metaphor work, Seed to Table and home visits. He also presented a long list of purchases and maintenance needs which have been deferred in the name of cost-cutting. 

Federal Programs Coordinator Dr. Stephanie Bechard followed up with a discussion on the acquisition and use of grants. And the Managing Director of Public Finance for Stifel, Lorenzo Boyd, explained the District’s procedures around bond sales. Operations Director Dr. Michael Dittrich closed out with a presentation on recently completed capital projects (playgrounds, classrooms, outdoor commons, new Central Office, etc.) and a menu of projects still needing completion (track & field, HVAC, furniture, interior security, etc.) 

MRH Central Office staff are now reviewing feedback provided by all Roundtable participants and will present synthesized notes to the Board of Education on October 17. 

Now, we want to know YOUR recommendations for priority spending. Please take a few moments to complete this VERY SHORT survey asking for your top areas of emphasis.

A condensed version of the Board Roundtables presentation can be found on our website.

Now that we are well into year 2 of the Strategic Plan, the Board reminds all interested stakeholders to join any of several advisory committees by filling out our online form. 

The next installment of the Board’s Community Roundtables series will take place on February 6, 2025.