Board approves multiple vendor agreements including Medicaid consultant, auditing and benefits vendors

The Tippin City Schools Board approved a set of contracts Tuesday covering forecasting, Medicaid reimbursement, auditing and employee benefits.

K12 Business Consulting: Trustees approved a new contract with K12 Business Consulting for financial forecasting services the district has used for multiple years. Board members praised the vendor’s PowerPoint deliverables and presentation format. No contract dollar figure was discussed at the board table during the meeting.

Julian Group (Medicaid reimbursement services): The board approved a service agreement with Julian Group (referred to in the meeting as "Julian Group"), which the administration said assists the district with Medicaid billing and related recoveries. Administration told the board the service historically returns approximately $200,000 annually; the Julian Group fee cited in the meeting is $1,800 per year. Trustees described the work as financially beneficial to the district.

Zepeda & Associates (audit services): The board approved a one‑year agreement with Zepeda & Associates to perform GAAP audit services while the district evaluates a potential change to a cash‑basis audit in future years. Administration described the first‑year fee as $8,000, with potential different pricing in subsequent years. The contract was limited to one year to allow the district time to compare audit approaches and seek competitive proposals next year.

American Fidelity (benefits/flex plan): Trustees renewed the district’s contract with American Fidelity to provide flexible‑benefit plan services for employees. Administration said American Fidelity has been cooperative and will help employees with enrollment and paperwork during the district’s transition to Stark County benefit administration the following year.

Why it matters: together these agreements support district operations — forecasting and budget planning, recovering Medicaid‑eligible revenues, annual financial statement audits and employee benefits administration. At least one trustee framed the Medicaid contract as paying for itself many times over in recovered revenue.

Outcome: all four agreements were approved by the board as presented. Administrators said the agreements had been discussed in finance committee meetings and that the approvals would allow work to continue without interruption.

Details and next steps: administration will file or execute the contracts per the district’s purchasing policies and proceed with the services. The board asked administration to monitor federal legislative changes that might affect Medicaid‑billing returns and to report back on any changes that would affect the district’s anticipated recovery amounts.