Mentor Schools 2021 Quality Profile Report - Flipbook - Page 13
Community Partnership: Connecting with
Cardinal Credit Union, Mentor Schools just
began operating a branch inside Mentor
High School. This is a great opportunity for
business students to learn banking, while all
students can learn personal finance and
even open their own checking account. This
partnership is so innovative, the Treasurer
of the State of Ohio, Robert Sprague, made
a special visit to Mentor to learn more
about it earlier this school year!
PERFECT AUDIT
>> Mentor Public Schools earned a Perfect Audit from the
Ohio Auditor of State’s office for Fiscal Year 2020!
Fiscal Stewardship
In December of 2019, a new ten year enrollment study was conducted and validated that our decline in student population
that began in 1996, has begun to level-out and that for each of the next 10 years, we can expect to have approximately 7,250
students enrolled in the school district. You may remember, peak enrollment in Mentor Schools happened in the 1990s with
more than 11,000 students in our schools compared to 7,153 (not including preschool) attending our schools today.
The actual and expected student enrollment aligns with the district’s implementation of a Facilities Management Plan in
2018-2019, where the decision to go from operating three middle schools to two and eight elementary schools to seven was
put into effect. The need to condense schools was a result of continued declining enrollment in Mentor Public Schools and
having to make appropriate facilities adjustments as part of our commitment to fiscal responsibility with our taxpayer dollars.
The Facilities Management Plan was projected to save more than $1 million a year over the term of the five year fiscal projections.
As part of the Facilities Management Plan, the former Dale R. Rice Elementary School building was sold in April 2020 for
$400,000 and the Brentmoor Elementary School building was sold in June of 2019 for $600,000. State law requires that
proceeds from the sale of real estate be deposited into the permanent improvement fund.
Mentor Schools takes pride in its school buildings, facilities and grounds located across Mentor and Mentor-on-the-Lake.
Along with its schools, the district owns a total of 16 properties valued at $257.3 million, including both the largest indoor and
outdoor spaces with seating available for community use in Lake County. These facilities are assets to our community and are
well-maintained via a five-year Permanent Improvement (PI) plan, with projects funded based on established need.
The Board of Education, Chief Financial Officer and Superintendent aggressively pursue non-tax revenue sources including:
private grants; selling business and operations services; major corporate partnerships; cell phone towers; facility rentals;
professional development services; and more.