Schools looking for cuts

Funding woes were the focus of a board meeting.
By JoANN JONES
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
BERLIN CENTER -- Programs will have to be cut if Western Reserve School District voters reject another levy, Superintendent Charles Swindler says.
"We have nothing else to cut but programs," Swindler said at Wednesday's board of education meeting.
Treasurer Carol Brobst said the district faces a projected deficit of $575,000 by June 2005. The levy defeated by voters would have generated $425,000 per year. She said that to offset the deficit, school officials have already increased lunch prices and limited the purchase of services and supplies to emergency situations only.
The board did not hire additional staff after the retirement of the superintendent's secretary, and spring sports teams have no assistant coaches.
"People have to know that voting no on a levy the next time is a vote against Western Reserve, not the state," Swindler continued.
"People feel that if it gets bad enough, the state will step in, but that's not so. We can't send the people the message that the state's going to come in and save us."
Swindler's comments came in response to remarks from Robert Osthoff, a member of the levy committee that tried to get a 5.7-mill operating levy passed in March.
Osthoff read from letters he wrote to state Rep. John Boccieri of New Middletown, D-61st, and state Sen. Robert F. Hagan of Youngstown, D-33rd, referring to flaws in the state's methods of funding school districts and unfunded mandates passed by legislators. Osthoff asked Swindler when the levy committee would meet again to try to get another levy passed.
What's next
Swindler said more levy meetings would be scheduled after the board looks at the number of pupils for next fall and the number of personnel needed for the 2004-05 school year. The board has not placed another levy on the ballot.
The superintendent noted that the district is operating on bare minimum and is expecting a 2 percent to 4 percent cut in state foundation funds between now and June. Then an additional 5.75 percent will be cut after that, he said.
Brobst said the district does not yet know the dollar amounts for those percentages but at least $116,000 will be cut from state funding for the 2004-05 school year.
The board approved a payment of $160,915 to the Mahoning County Educational Service Center for special education services for the 2004-05 school year. Swindler pointed out that the costs for these services greatly exceed the money received for them through the state foundation.