SCHOOLS Boardman gets $101K for repairs

The money had been sitting in the fund since 1969.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- School officials say an extra $101,000 may not constitute a financial windfall, but it will go a long way in making needed improvements to the high school.
Judge John M. Durkin of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court ruled last week that school officials could transfer a bond retirement fund in the amount of $101,717 to the Boardman High School permanent improvement fund.
Schools Superintendent Frank Lazzeri said the bond was created, as required by law, when the high school was built in the late 1960s. After the building was completed, roughly $101,000 was left in the bond fund. The money had been carried in school financial records since that time.
Lazzeri said the leftover $101,000 is the result of work on the high school at the time of its construction being completed at a cost less than the actual bid price. Board members waited to petition for the use of the money until the high school needed sprucing up, he said.
School officials were required to obtain court approval before using the money.
"The $101,000 left over in the fund, we were not allowed to touch," Lazzeri said. "It was carried over from year to year with the idea that when the high school needed some upgrading we would use that money. It has always been the board's idea that the money be used strictly for the high school."
Capital improvement levy
According to Lazzeri, the school district has a capital improvement levy that generates about $900,000 annually. The levy is renewable every five years, and the money, Lazzeri said, is spent on improvements throughout the district such as roof repairs at any one of the schools, window replacement, boiler work, paving and upgrades to lighting fixtures.
Even with the capital improvement levy, Lazzeri said, the district needs stay ahead of the available funds to make upgrades and repairs.
"The $900,000 may sound like a lot of money, but our estimated capital improvements needs are $12,000,000," he said.
Keeping up with needed repairs and upgrades, Lazzeri said, is why the additional $100,000 will come in handy and why school officials decided that now was the time to petition the court for use of the money. It is time, he said, for a little TLC at the high school.
Look a little nicer
"It has been 35 years since that building was built so you can imagine things need to be done," he said. "We were able to do some things to make the building look a little nicer."
Lazzeri said the money will be used to put floor tiles in 10 rooms at the high school, replace some doors, carpet the band room and remove graffiti from the outside of the building. He said there are other needs at the high school, such as an auxiliary gym to accommodate growing physical education and extracurricular needs, that the $101,000 will not cover.
jgoodwin@vindy.com