PERFORMANCE AUDIT Niles schools implement fiscal measures

Officials said some of the auditor's suggestions can't be discussed publicly.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NILES -- Many of the recommendations the state auditor listed in a performance audit of the city school district already have been implemented, officials say.
The audit, released Thursday by Ohio Auditor Betty Montgomery, listed steps administrators and the board of education could take to reduce the district's debt and avoid being placed under fiscal emergency status.
"This does serve as a valuable tool in terms of where we're at fiscally," Superintendent Patrick N. Guliano said of the document. "But there are a lot of things in here that we've already done."
The performance audit suggested the district cut its teaching staff by 10 positions, and Guliano and John Mahoney, president of the Niles Classroom Teachers Association, noted that 22 teachers either retired, resigned or were laid off last year and were not replaced. An additional 14 teachers have announced they will retire by July 1 this year.
If 12 of those teachers are not replaced, Guliano said, the district could save more than $772,000 next year.
Other money-saving measures already implemented include closing Garfield Elementary, eliminating nonmandatory field trips and eliminating overtime.
More recommendations
Other suggestions from Montgomery center on having employees pay at least a portion of their health-care insurance and omitting a "no-reduction-in-force" clause from the contract between the schools and the nonteaching staff.
Guliano and Mary Sliwinski, a representative from the Ohio Association of Public School Employees Local 365, which represents the nonteachers, said because of ongoing contract negotiations, they could not publicly comment on those suggestions and whether they may be implemented.
"OAPSE 365 fully understands the situation Niles schools are in," Sliwinski said. "We're willing to do everything possible to help."
Guliano also noted the NCTA union has been helpful in reducing the district's debt by agreeing to extend the current terms of their contract through August. In the one-year agreement, the teachers union also agreed to wage freezes and to move to a new insurance carrier that would save the district more than $260,000 next year.
In fiscal watch
Niles schools were placed under fiscal watch status last March by Montgomery's office when the district's financial plan showed it would be more than $2 million in debt at the end of the 2002-2003 school year.
Guliano said officials do not yet have a clear picture how they will end this school year, since the negotiations with OAPSE Local 365 will affect the schools' financial status.
The two sides met for a bargaining session Thursday, and another session is tentatively set for April 19.
"But we are continuing to do our best to achieve fiscal solvency," the superintendent said. "It's just not going to happen overnight."
slshaulis@vindy.com