SCHOOLS Niles can ask state to get it off watch list

NILES -- Thanks to a five-year, 4.8-mill emergency levy passed by voters in February, Niles schools can formally ask the state to release the district from fiscal watch.
The school board voted Thursday night to make the request, but district treasurer Linda Molinaro advised them that the release is not automatic.
The district has been on fiscal watch for three years. Money from the tax levy will alleviate the budget shortages, but the state auditor's office could deny the request because the district has not filed a general accounting report in two years, Molinaro said.
The report, which would cost the district about $4,000 to file each year, is not required, but not filing it can keep the district from having a bond rating, she said.
"I don't mind having the state looking at us more carefully," Molinaro said. "It keeps us honest."
But board member Wanda Burns disagreed, saying that she feels there is a "stigma" attached to being under fiscal watch.
Cafeteria deficit
Molinaro also told the board that the district's cafeteria budget is showing a deficit of about $350,000. The problem started in 2003 and has continued each year, she said, adding that it is a common problem with Ohio school districts.
"We only bring in money nine months of the year, but we still pay benefits for 12 months," she said.
"Are we sitting here with our heads in the sand?," asked board president John Davis. "Are there districts who aren't having this problem? We need to talk to them."
Superintendent Rocco Adduci told the board that the district could offset the deficit by charging more for meals.
"We don't want to do that," Adduci said. "For many students, this is the best meal they get all day."