TRUMBULL COUNTY SCHOOLS Faltering finances spur levy requests

The Bristol district has been in fiscal emergency since October.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
BRISTOLVILLE -- Cuts in state education funding and rising health-care costs have many Trumbull County districts in a funding lurch and asking voters for help.
Voters in the Bristol, Brookfield, Girard, Lakeview, Liberty and Newton Falls school districts are being asked to approve additional millage.
Residents in the Joseph Badger, LaBrae and Liberty school districts also will be asked to approve renewal levies.
Bristol
In Bristol, a 7.9 mill, five-year additional levy would generate about $560,000 annually. The district was declared in fiscal emergency late last year, and a fiscal oversight commission was appointed.
"It's a definite need," Superintendent Rocco Nero said. "Without it, we'll remain in fiscal emergency a lot longer."
Even with passage, the district must continue belt-tightening to dig out of fiscal emergency.
Like many districts across the state, Bristol suffered from reduced funding from the state and saw a 41 percent increase in health-insurance costs. Special-education costs also continue to rise.
The district's operational costs also increased -- much of which can be attributed to running a larger building and its accompanying higher utility costs.
"We don't need this money for frills; we need this money to survive," Nero said.
Lakeview
Lakeview voters are being asked to approve a 4.5-mill additional levy for five years, which would generate about $1,145,245 annually.
Superintendent Matt Chojnacki said health-care costs more than doubled from 1999 to 2003 for the district. While funding from the state has decreased, legislative changes have reduced the amount of money districts may collect in property taxes.
"In the last five years, we've lost 150 students due to declining enrollment," Chojnacki said, pointing to the area's falling population.
Kmart, one of the district's top taxpayers because of the distribution center located in the district, didn't pay taxes last year because it was in bankruptcy, cutting further into the district's revenues.
If voters approve the tax, the district plans to get its textbook replacement program back on track, upgrade its technology and phone system, consider replacing buses and possibly add some course offerings.
"We haven't asked for new money for a number of years," Chojnacki said.
Liberty
In Liberty, voters are being asked to approve a 7.9-mill additional levy for five years to generate about $1.79 million annually.
"It would enable us to continue to keep the programs that we have currently in place," Superintendent Larry Prince said. "Without it, we have some backup plans to generate additional money."
Those backup plans include open enrollment and requiring pupils to pay to participate in activities.
Like most districts, Liberty has been hit with rising health-care costs and reduction in state money. Liability, fleet and property insurance costs also have increased. Over a three-year period, the district has lost about $200,000 to community schools, Prince said.
Current cutbacks range from not replacing employees who leave the district to consolidating positions.
If the levy fails, the district will launch open enrollment for the 2004-2005 school year, meaning that pupils from other districts will be permitted to enroll in the district and may increase class size.
Girard
Voters in Girard are being asked to approve a 7.4-mill operating levy, the first new operating levy since 1988. The levy would generate more than $1 million annually, costing the owner of a $50,000 home about $113 a year in additional property tax.
Without the additional revenue, the district is facing a series of possible cuts including elimination of most busing, cutting kindergarten from full to half-day, not replacing teachers who retire and axing many extracurricular activities, district officials have said.
Officials cite cuts in state funding, inflation and the fact that the district is facing a deficit in the 2004-05 school year as reasons the levy is needed. The state auditor's office already has placed the district in fiscal caution.
Newton Falls, Brookfield
Newton Falls voters will be asked to approve a 5.2-mill levy that will raise about $590,000 in each of five years.
"It's an attempt to maintain the existing programs at the level we have," Superintendent David Wilson said.
The district learned Jan. 23 that its funding from the state would be more than $400,000 less than the amount expected.
The district hasn't passed a new current-expenses levy for 13 years.
Because of its decreasing revenues, the district had to submit a plan to the state for cutting costs. That plan, although not specific, includes program and staffing cuts.
"With 84 percent to 86 percent of your budget in salary and benefits, there's nowhere else to cut," Wilson said.
The school district and its employees have switched to buying health insurance through a consortium of area school districts to get a lower cost.
Brookfield school-district voters are being asked to approve a 4-mill additional levy for current expenses.
denise.dick@vindy.com