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The commission appointed to address the Trimble Local School District’s fiscal emergency has to provide plan by September

By: Ty Carpenter
Posted on: Monday, June 2, 2025

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GLOUSTER, Ohio (WOUB) — Residents in the Trimble Local Schools District will know by late September what further cuts will be made in an ongoing effort to address the district’s financial crisis.

A commission tasked with stabilizing the district’s finances met for the first time Wednesday and outlined the process.

The commission will be looking at cutting expenditures and stopping deficit spending, and suggesting a levy. However, the commission cannot assume the district would attempt a levy as it determines how much needs to be cut. Further cuts are still being determined.

The commission was appointed after the district was placed in fiscal emergency in part because of inaccurate projections from the former treasurer that led to overspending. 

“The alarm bells probably started around 2023 to 2024, but we were not aware of how dire the situation was until recently. We have a serious cash flow issue,” said Trimble Treasurer Ashley Miller.

Miller emphasized a need for urgency to the commission, as the district faces a projected deficit of $11 million in 2029. This was echoed by Superintendent John Hurd, who noted the district’s previous attempts to make up the deficit. These included cutting 35 positions in the district, with six pending. 

“Basically every job group was impacted,” Hurd remarked, “and no position is non-essential … they were essential. They were just the positions we felt were necessary to cut to make an impact.”

The commission will make recommendations on how many positions should be cut, direct financial forecasts, manage purchase orders of $5,000 or more, or perform “any actions the commission considers necessary to implement the financial recovery plan,” according to a presentation at Wednesday’s meeting. 

“Right now, we are in the best position to address the deficit. As time goes on it will only get more difficult,” said commission Chairperson Kim Richard, who works for the Ohio Department of Education.

The other commission members are Teresa Fouts-Imler, director of the Athens County Emergency Management Agency; Josephine Harders, management analyst at the Ohio Office of Budget and Management; Magdalene Perry, a Trimble parent; and Sherry Rossiter, a former Ohio University employee.

The Trimble Board of Education is set to meet June 18. The commission will meet again June 25. Members of the public are invited to attend.