STEUBENVILLE — The Jefferson County Educational Service Center has once again proved itself a boon to its member school districts through savings on programs and services. The state has designated the ESC as high performing for the 2023-2024 school year. This marks the seventh straight year.

Superintendent Chuck Kokiko said hitting this mark is part of JCESC’s mission and a sign of successful progress.

“It was a requirement of ESCs to go through this process to be deemed a high-performing ESC,” he said. “We’ve got to select five programs. We have to then look at the cost that we charge, and we have to find those exact costs from other agencies and compare their costs to ours.”

He said the ESCs must demonstrate a threshold of 5 percent savings. The Ohio Department of Education evaluates applications from each of Ohio’s 51 ESCs. The ODE compares prices with private service providers and determines the total percentage of cost savings.

ESC services and supports to school districts include professional development, technology, planning and administrative services. Programs are geared to help improve student learning, enhance quality of instruction, expand access to resources and maximize operating and fiscal efficiency.

JCESC Treasurer Ethan Tice said the five services submitted by JCESC were school psychologist, speech therapist, legal services, occupational therapist and alternative schools.

“They’re actually the same services that’ve been submitted in the past as well,” he said.

He said savings are based on data from 2023 for 2024.

Tice said the total percentage saved comes to 39.38 percent and the total savings for the school districts came to more than $1 million.

Tice said the advantage to using JCESC is the ability to hire a professional to divide time among several school districts.

“The cost is split then,” he said. “I compare what that cost is, based on what that cost would be if they hired a company.”

For example, he said attorney’s fees are another high expense, since they are often called on for tasks such as union negotiations and fees include travel, meeting attendance and documentation.

“It adds up very quickly, and when we can hire one attorney and split that cost between multiple districts, it’s a lot less,” he said.

Tice said the cost saving means JCESC makes a real difference in school district operations that impacts the individual student.

“It really makes me reflect and think about the big picture,” he said. “With all this money being saved, the districts can now use this money for other support services. At the end of the day, by us saving them money, students are benefiting.

“These dollars really do impact students,” he said.

“Every time we save a district money, ultimately they’re going to put those funds back into the district,” Tice said. “All of these things truly does come back to what we’re all here for, and that’s helping students.”

Kokiko said the Jefferson County ESC’s goal is to provide support where it will do the most good. He added school districts are dealing with various issues arising from factors including the COVID-19 pandemic and other difficulties.

He said these programs and services will only grow in the future. One upcoming driver’s education program could start as early as this semester or with the beginning of next school year.

JCESC Governing Board President Barry Gullen also commended the hard work that made the achievement possible.

“It’s an honor to have received this high-performing distinction from the Ohio Department of Education once again. This distinction is a representation of the dedication of our JCESC employees, service districts, and Governing Board members,” he said.

“Across the state, ESCs reported significant savings to client school districts. This represents only part of the value that you and your colleagues are providing to school districts across the state,” wrote Aaron Rausch, chief of budget and school funding with the Ohio Department of Education.

JCESC’s member schools include Buckeye Local, Edison, Harrison Hills, Indian Creek, Jefferson County Board of Developmental Disabilities, Jefferson County Joint Vocational School, Steubenville, Southern Local, Toronto and Utica Shale Academy.

For information, visit jcesc.k12.oh.us or call (740) 283-3347.