CRESTVIEW SCHOOLS Board members to discuss finances

The school board has already begun cutting costs.
COLUMBIANA -- The Crestview Local Board of Education will go into closed-door session at its meeting Wednesday to address the district's "financial situation, looking at what might lead to layoffs," Superintendent John Dilling said.
The board is looking at a $50,000 deficit for 2005-06, and a $300,000 shortfall in 2006-07, Dilling said.
"The board is looking at the long-range plan," he said. "We don't want to get to the point where we make massive layoffs. & quot;.
The district already has begun tightening its belt, eliminating two contracted positions, including a career center employee. "Plus, we will not purchase new text books and a bus," he added.
The district, which stretches over 49 square miles outside of the village, services about 1,100 pupils in grades K-12, Dilling said.
The executive session will address the possibility of reducing teaching positions.
"We may not [lay off] any teachers," he said. "We could look at other things to cut."
State funding and taxes
The budget concerns stem from inadequate state funding and the reliance of property taxes to fund schools, Dilling said.
"We are not unlike other districts in Columbiana County," he said. "The governor's budget came out, and we know it's not enough. Costs keep going up, not just with teachers' salaries. You have increased fuel prices, for example, to keep our 14 buses on the road, and the loss of industry [to provide tax money]."
Like other local districts, the system faces declining enrollment. Over the past two years, it has lost 125 pupils, which affects funding.
Although Crestview is one of several schools that collect a 1 percent income tax from residents, it is not enough to make up from the lack of state funding, Dilling said.
Other items on the agenda: the presentation of a high school building improvement plan, approval of a three-year contract to rehire its special education coordinator and approval of a one-year contract to rehire an assistant principal/athletic director.