MAHONING COUNTY State will reduce funding to MRDD

The board will use other funding sources and leave some positions temporarily vacant.
BOARDMAN -- Because of the state's financial crunch, state funding for the Mahoning County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities will be reduced by $271,000 for the state fiscal year that began July 1.
A letter from Ken Ritchey, director of the Ohio Department of MRDD, announcing the cut was presented to the county board Monday.
County Board Superintendent Larry Duck reported state funding for the local board is down a total of $360,000 over the past two years, including an $89,000 cut last year. The state money totals about $1.9 million for this fiscal year.
"We will try to maintain the same level of services through other funding sources," including local and federal sources, said board president Carole Weimer.
Duck also said some staff positions temporarily will be left vacant to absorb part of the reduction in state funds.
The county board's total budget for calendar year 2002 is $22,719,722, some $16 million of which comes from property tax levies.
Personnel moves
The board promoted George Gabriel from case manager to director of its Meshel MASCO (Mahoning Adult Services Co.) workshop.
It also hired Maria Volpe for the new position of habilitation manager. She will supervise habilitation specialists at the board's three adult workshops. These specialists teach daily living, work and production skills to workshop clients.
Also hired were Molly Spisak as a pre-school instructor at the Leonard Kirtz School, and three case managers, Brian Meenachan, Daniel Horne, and Cynthia Colon. Salary information on the hirings was not available.