TRUMBULL COUNTY Lordstown schools released from fiscal emergency status

The oversight commission will meet next week to formally disband.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
LORDSTOWN -- Tough decisions and community cooperation were the keys in Lordstown Local Schools' ability to climb out of fiscal emergency, a state official said.
State Auditor Betty Montgomery announced Thursday she had released the schools from fiscal emergency status. The district was originally given that designation in December 2000 after being placed in fiscal watch in October of that year.
"It's a significant day in Lordstown," said Joe Case, a spokesman from Montgomery's office. "It's a pretty significant achievement."
The auditor's office will place schools in fiscal emergency when financial projections show the district will end several years in the red and can show no immediate solutions to correct the problems.
Once in fiscal emergency, the state appoints a financial oversight commission to help local officials develop a financial plan that shows conditions that created the fiscal emergency can be eliminated and can maintain solvency in years to come.
"From the plans we've seen, it looks like Lordstown will be in decent shape for the near future at least," Case said.
Steps taken
Lordstown school officials were not available Thursday to comment, but Case noted they had worked well with staff members and the community at large to alleviate the financial problems.
"They made some hard cuts, they asked voters to approve a levy, and they worked with the unions in the schools in making some adjustments," he said. "This is something the entire community can be proud of."
In a press release, Montgomery noted the district was able to save and generate funding by closing the Gordon D. James Career Center in June 2002 and leasing the building to the Trumbull Career and Technical Center, making adjustments to building capacity and adjusting fringe benefit and cafeteria programs.
In addition to removing the school district from fiscal emergency status, Montgomery also freed the state-appointed Financial Planning and Supervision Commission for the Lordstown schools from its responsibilities.
The commission is set to meet at 10 a.m. Wednesday in the library of Lordstown High School for a final time to formally disband.
Though the commission will no longer oversee the schools' financial decisions, Case said, the state auditor's office will still monitor the district for the next year or so.
"It just allows for a bit of a security blanket for everyone to make sure the recovery plan works the way everyone thought it would," he said.
slshaulis@vindy.com