MAHONING SCHOOLS Tax drive won't solve problem, officials say

Officials say they appreciate the county's efforts.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
Local school officials say their long-term financial problems won't be solved by the hundreds of thousands of dollars they're set to receive from Mahoning County's efforts to collect unpaid property taxes.
"It's a good thing, but it's not a solution," Austintown schools Treasurer Barbara Kliner said.
The county brought in more than $10 million in previously unpaid property taxes through a recent tax-lien sale and a drive to collect back taxes. County Treasurer John Reardon said 5 percent of that will be divided between the county prosecutor and treasurer. Most of the rest of the money will go to local schools, including the Youngstown district, which is set to receive $2.3 million.
Other school districts that will benefit include Boardman, $920,750; Canfield, $605,570; Austintown, $572,670; and Poland, $349,190.
Worries remain
Kliner and other school officials said they appreciate the county's efforts to collect unpaid taxes, but they're worried the money won't offset cuts in state funding. School officials said they've heard about a possible 3 percent cut in June and a 6 percent cut in December, but state officials said no decisions have been made on cuts.
A 3 percent cut would be equal to hundreds of thousands of dollars for some districts.
Poland Superintendent Dr. Robert Zorn said his district will set aside $176,000 from the tax lien sale to cover the cost of a possible 3 percent cut in June. The district will use the remaining $179,190 from the tax lien sale for a 3 percent raise for teachers in 2004-05 and to create a computer lab in a school building.
Zorn described the money as a "one-time shot" and noted it wouldn't help the district cover future state funding cuts.
"If it was reoccuring, it'd be nice," said Boardman schools Treasurer Richard Santilli.
Youngstown Superintendent Ben McGee added that it would be unwise to think the back-tax collection could solve schools' long-term financial problems, as the money won't be available in future years. He noted the Youngstown school board has yet to decide how to spend the money, but he would like to see it help pay for the district's early college initiative with Youngstown State University.
McGee also said he believes some of the money could be set aside to cover unseen expenses in the district's school construction projects.
Determining amount
Both Kliner and Canfield Superintendent Dante Zambrini said officials in their districts want to confirm how much money they will receive before determining how it will be spent. Reardon said schools were given some of the money from the tax lien sale last month, after the county's first collection of property taxes for the year.
The districts most likely will receive the rest of the money in August, after the second property tax collection, he said.
Kliner stressed that she doesn't expect proceeds from the sale to be enough to cover the district's projected deficit, which is expected to be about $2.1 million at the end of next year. If Austintown receives $572,670 from the tax lien sale, it will still have a deficit of about $1.5 million at the end of 2004-05, Kliner said. She noted that the deficit estimate does not take into account possible cuts in state funding.
Zambrini compared dealing with state funding cuts after receiving the tax lien money with taking "two steps forward and five steps backward." He added, however, that he "commends the [county] treasurer for doing something this progressive."
Santilli said the Boardman school board hasn't discussed how it will spend the money. He noted district officials are worried about how they will respond to a law phasing out the state inventory tax over the next several years.