The Ripley-Union-Lewis-Huntington Board of Education will hold a special meeting March 8 to discuss the repurposing of the middle school building in Aberdeen. Photo by Wade Linville
Mainly due to a significant drop in enrollment in recent years, the Ripley-Union-Lewis-Huntington School District is looking into the repurposing of the middle school building located in Aberdeen.
With only around 45 percent of the building’s capacity being utilized, the middle school in Aberdeen has been a financial strain on the school district since enrollment began to decline several years ago.
The RULH Board of Education will hold a special meeting at the RULH Middle School in Aberdeen at 6:30 p.m. on March 8 to discuss the repurposing of the middle school and personnel.
RULH Superintendent James Wilkins said the school district looks to limit the loss of employment as much as possible if the RULH Board of Education approves the repurposing of the middle school.
“We have five or six retirements and several open positions we haven’t filled, so the amount of people losing their job right now looks to be five or six people – one administrator, one classified worker, and four teachers,” said Wilkins, who took over as RULH superintendent in 2017.
There are currently around 16 staffed positions at the middle school.
Looking at enrollment numbers based on Average Daily Membership (students in school buildings during the day), the RULH School District currently has 777 students with around 60 of those attending career and technical center programs.
There are currently 231 students enrolled at the RULH Middle School based on ADM enrollment information that was provided.
When plans were underway for the construction of the new RULH Middle School 20 years ago, enrollment at RULH was at 1,377.
“In the summer of 2017 when I took office we had 805 students, today we have 777,” said Wilkins. “So, we have slowed the bleeding, because if you average it out we were losing a lot more than five or six kids a year, which is what we’ve lost in my tenure of six years here as superintendent,” Wilkins said of the decline in enrollment at RULH. “It has slowed down, but it still hasn’t turned the tide where we feel it is productive to keep the middle school open financially.”
Enrollment at Brown County public schools combined has dropped more than 25 percent since the 2003-04 school year, according to information provided by Wilkins.
The repurposing of the middle school would result in an annual savings of approximately $1.1 million in staffing due to staff reductions, according to Wilkins.
According to a performance audit conducted by the Ohio Auditor of State in 2021, the RULH High School and RULH Elementary School have both been operating at under 50 percent of their total capacity with 47.5 percent of the elementary school being utilized and only 45.3 percent of the high school being utilized.
RULH requested the performance audit be conducted.
In regards to reconfiguring education facilities, the audit stated as a recommendation to “Consider reconfiguring District educational facilities to better reflect the current enrollment demand. In doing so, the District could save $113,400 in facilities operating costs and progress toward structural balance within their year-over-year budget.”
The money in operating costs that could be saved annually if repurposing the middle school, which may involve the relocation of some current middle school staff members and layoffs, could better align the school district with industry benchmarks for building capacity, according to the audit conducted.
The RULH School District’s projected five year financial forecast shows that the school district’s finances will be well into the “red” by 2026 if a change is not made with the use of the middle school building.
According to the recent Projected Five Year Forecast provided by RULH Treasurer Zoie Garrett, the school district will be $1,403,055 in the negative in fiscal year 2026 and $3,759,437 in the negative for fiscal year 2027 if the current use of the middle school continues.
When comparing RULH finances over the past year, the general fund cash balance has reduced by approximately $1 million in one year, according to information provided by Garrett.
With the proposed repurposing of the middle school, Garrett’s Projected Five Year Forecast shows that the school district would be in the positive for fiscal years 2026 and 2027 ($41,287).
The only changes made in the forecast were salary and benefits, and it will be re-evaluated once official plans are made.
If the change is approved by the school board, fifth and sixth grade students would be relocated to the RULH Elementary School while seventh and eighth grade students would be relocated to the RULH High School. Originally constructed to house both high school and middle school students, the RULH High School already has a junior high section that makes it possible to limit contact between high school and junior high students.
Prior to the construction of the middle school in Aberdeen, RULH junior high students attended the RULH High School in Ripley.
“There is one side of the high school that was completely designated as a junior high side,” said Wilkins.
When comparing the 2021-22 report card for other school districts in Brown and surrounding counties, school districts with higher ADM enrollment numbers operate with only two school buildings including: North Adams (1,154), Peebles (940), West Union (1,129), Georgetown (991), Manchester (695), Bright Local (702), and Felicity-Franklin (699).
The ADM enrollment numbers for RULH on the 2021-22 report card was listed at 683.
If the repurposing is approved by the school board, the plans could be to move the Wasserman Blue Jay Day Treatment program that is currently located at the RULH High School to the middle school in Aberdeen.
Wasserman is for school-age children with significant emotional needs that cannot be maintained in regular school settings. The program is a therapeutic environment with an academic component.
The Wasserman is operated by Child Focus, Inc. The CCESC partners with Child Focus, Inc. and local school districts to place teachers, paraprofessionals, and related service personnel to meet the specific academic needs of students served therein.
The Wasserman program at RULH accepts students from other school districts which could potentially be a source of income for the RULH School District while students in the RULH School District would be able to attend Wasserman free of charge, according to Wilkins.
“We can help at-risk children,” Wilkins said of the Wasserman program.
The Wasserman program at the RULH High School has around 20 students and is at maximum capacity, but moving the Wasserman Blue Jay program to the middle school could allow for its growth.
RULH contracts with Child Focus for the Wasserman program, and if the repurposing is approved there will also have to be a contract signed to move forward with relocating the Wasserman program to Aberdeen.
Wilkins said the RULH School District would maintain use of the middle school gymnasium and outdoor facilities around the middle school building. The gymnasium would still be used for sports practices such as junior high basketball and for hosting events.
RULH would have some costs from keeping the middle school building open.
The existing debt (lien) on the middle school building will be paid off in 2024, according to Garrett.