There is a lot happening right now across Ohio related to school finance, and the changes from one day to the next can be quite drastic. Because everything is changing so quickly, we are going to focus on what we know and can control–ourselves.
Our goal is to maximize every dollar we spend, and we are proud of the fact that our district is in the top 20% of Ohio school districts in academic performance and in the lowest 30% of cost per pupil for us to operate. The value we provide to our community is important to us, and we recognize that it goes hand in hand with the value our community provides through local funding.
VALUE TO OUR DISTRICT
As you saw on page three of the 2024-2025 Quality Profile, which arrived in mailboxes in early November, only 13.94% of our fiscal year 2026 (July 1, 2025-June 30, 2026) school funding comes from state sources, meaning 86.06% comes from local sources. 72.04% of the local funding comes from real property tax (49.47%) and income taxes (22.57%). Without the direct support of our community, we would not be able to be as effective as we are teaching our students, maintaining our facilities, and offering high-quality academics and award-winning fine arts and athletic programs.
The quality of our facilities plays a part in everything we do, so a portion of our revenue must be spent to maintain them. Without our campus, we wouldn’t be able to provide educational opportunities to our students. As you can see in the graphic below, we are constantly looking for the most economical ways to maintain and, when appropriate, upgrade our facilities to improve the experience of our students and community alike.
If you have not seen the social media posts regarding the improvements on the graphic, you can click these links to learn more about each of them:
High School Greenhouse Renovation
High School Restroom Renovation
Hallway, Stairwell, and Regulatory Signage Maintenance
Parking Lot, Door, and Stoplight Maintenance and Upgrades
VALUE TO OUR COMMUNITY
On the other end of the spectrum is the value our district brings to our community so our taxpayers earn a return on their investment.
As we continually work to accomplish our vision of building a culture of learning that enables all students to achieve and grow, a key point to show our value to our community is the Ohio State Report Card. To learn more about our 2025 results from Director of Teaching and Learning Mrs. Cassie Schaffer, visit the Knight Insight titled “Understanding State Report Card Results.”
Part of the report card is based on student achievement, and according to data from the Ohio Department of Education & Workforce, 78.3% of our students in grades 3-12 showed proficiency on their end-of-course state tests during the 2024-2025 school year, which was well above the Hancock County average of 69.5% and the state average of 60.1%. The trend of academic excellence continued with the ACT results of the Class of 2025 with the VB average (20.9) exceeding both the Ohio (18.8) and national (19.4) averages.
As we continue to provide our taxpayers with a high return on their investment in our district, know that we appreciate the contributions of community members and partners, parents, students, and staff. A strong community is built on connection, support, and shared purpose, and with everyone’s contributions, we can achieve continued success.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Cathy Schuller, Treasurer
Check out what else is happening at Van Buren Local School District:
District Receives $20,000 STEM Grant from Pilot Travel Centers
Enhancing Our Student Services
Understanding State Report Card Results
Sign up to receive Knights in the Know