At FTCSC, we value every taxpayer dollar we receive and work hard to spend those dollars in ways that best meet the needs of our students. Being intentional and careful about how we use those resources allows us to continue Making A Difference through Purposeful Learning and Meaningful Collaboration while also planning responsibly for the future of our growing FTCSC Flashes Community.
We are proud that, once again, an independent outside organization has reviewed our finances and provided strong validation of how we manage the resources entrusted to us by our taxpayers.
S&P Global Ratings recently assigned FTCSC an AA- underlying bond rating, placing FTCSC among the highest-rated public school corporations in Indiana. According to information provided to FTCSC by Baker Tilly, our AA- rating places FTCSC among the Top 10 public school corporations in Indiana based on bond rating.
That is an accomplishment we are incredibly proud of, but more importantly, it speaks to how FTCSC manages our taxpayer dollars.
“This independent validation proves that the trust our families place in us is well-founded,” Superintendent Dr. Chase Huotari said. “It confirms that we are managing taxpayer resources with precision and foresight, allowing us to maintain high standards and stability while successfully navigating district growth, as well as state funding complexities.”
In simple terms, after reviewing FTCSC’s finances, S&P determined that our district's finances are managed in a way that will enable us to meet our financial commitments with a very low risk of default.
And for our Franklin Township taxpayers, that strong bond rating also has a very real benefit. When FTCSC needs to borrow money for major capital projects, a stronger bond rating results in lower interest costs. That means fewer taxpayer dollars go toward interest, allowing our FTCSC Flashes Community’s dollars to go even further.
As Mr. Fred McWhorter, FTCSC's Chief Operating Officer and Treasurer, explained, “A higher bond rating means lower interest costs, which means less interest expense for the community.”
Our strong rating means we manage the money we do receive extremely well.
That takes intentional work throughout the entire year. Our Business Office continually monitors revenues, expenses, and cash balances and compares our financial expectations with actual results. Adjustments are made throughout the year to keep FTCSC on track, maintain a balanced budget, and protect our cash reserves.
What makes this recognition even more meaningful is that it is not simply FTCSC saying we are doing a good job managing taxpayer dollars. This is yet another independent outside organization reviewing our finances and confirming it.
And it is not the first outside review to do so. FTCSC recently received another clean financial audit through the Indiana State Board of Accounts. That means we now have multiple independent reviews of our financial records and practices affirming the work being done to responsibly manage the resources entrusted to FTCSC.
We are proud of that consistency. Our FTCSC Flashes Community should expect us to use their tax dollars wisely. We also want our community to understand how school finance works, where our funding comes from, how taxpayer dollars support our schools, and how those resources are being used.
That is one of the reasons we created Flashes Financials. School finance can be complicated, and Flashes Financials was created to make it easier to understand. The page provides information about school funding, property taxes, FTCSC finances, and common questions and misconceptions about how Indiana public schools are funded.
We continue to add information to Flashes Financials and encourage all members of our FTCSC Flashes Community to visit the page and continue checking back to stay current on FTCSC’s finances.
Visit Flashes Financials: Flashes Financials | FTCSC
Receiving one of the highest bond ratings among Indiana school corporations is something our entire FTCSC Flashes Community can be proud of. More importantly, just like the clean audit by the Indiana State Board of Accounts, it is yet another independent confirmation of something we work hard at every day: valuing taxpayer dollars, managing our resources responsibly, and making thoughtful financial decisions that allow us to continue Making A Difference through Purposeful Learning and Meaningful Collaboration.