The latest five-year forecast for Delaware City Schools will be presented and voted on at the board of education meeting today.

The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the district’s Technology Center, 621 Pennsylvania Ave.

By state law, boards must submit forecasts by May 31 and Oct. 31 each year. According to the Ohio Department of Education, there are three purposes for the forecast:

• “To engage the local board of education and the community in long-range planning and discussions of financial issues facing the school district;”

• To serve as a basis for signing a certificate “that adequate revenues will be available to maintain all personnel and programs for the current fiscal year and for a number of days in the succeeding fiscal years;”

• It helps the Department of Education and Auditor of State “to identify school districts with potential financial problems.”

In the district’s May forecast, general property taxes were listed at $26,303,612 for 2015; and projected to be $20,870,018 in 2019. Its unrestricted grants-in-aid (state funding) were $14,825,602 in 2015; and estimated to be $16,984,523 in 2019. Total revenues were $50,102,345 in 2015; going down to $44,607,772 in 2019.

On the expenses side, personnel services (salaries and wages) were $28,056,672 in 2015; increasing to $33,350,665 in 2019. Employee retirement and insurance benefits were $11,005,117 in 2015; increasing to $14,466,349 in 2019. Purchased services were $6,547,961 in 2015; rising to $6,812,194 in 2019. The total expenditures were $48,996,298 in 2015; going up to $58,260,382 in 2019.

Revenues over expenditures are $1,106,047 in 2015, but there are deficits in the other four years, with the highest being $13,652,610 in 2019. The ending cash balance is $8,386,637 in 2015, with deficits in years four and five, ending with a deficit of $24,866,353 in 2019.

“It is not uncommon to see deficits in years four and five of a forecast,” states the Department of Education’s “How to Read a Forecast” publication. “Given the uncertainty of future state budgets, local economic factors, state or federal mandates, etc., years four and five are difficult to project.”

The board will also vote on insurance carriers for the district — MetLife; United Healthcare; Delta Dental; EyeMed Vision Care; and Trustmark.