District considers eliminating 82 jobs

By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Youngstown City School District is looking at the elimination of 82 employee positions next year to reduce the size of a projected general fund deficit.
The cuts would reduce district spending by $5,275,000, said Carolyn Funk, district treasurer.
Funk presented the proposal, drafted by the district administration, to the school board Monday.
The proposed reductions would include 56 teachers and counselors, nine administrators, 14 classified employees and three contracted service workers, she said.
The cuts could come in the form of retirements and layoffs, she said.
No action
The board took no immediate action on the plan, but individual board members, who have been expressing concerns about district spending, thanked the administration for its efforts.
Funk said the reduction plan is the result of the school board reacting to the five-year financial forecast she prepared last month that showed the district is facing a $3.426 million deficit in fiscal 2007.
The board asked the administration to come up with a plan to cut spending and the document presented this week is still a work in progress, Funk said, explaining that further cuts will likely be proposed.
The $5.275 million reduction in spending won't wipe out the entire anticipated deficit because that number includes $4.267 million in projected savings that were already in the five-year projections, Funk said.
Some staff cuts and the closings of two buildings next year, as well as district employees picking up 10 percent of their health care premium costs make up that $4.267 million figure, Funk said.
The health care issue has yet to be negotiated as part of employee contracts.
Funk said the bottom line is that the latest proposed reductions only add $1.008 million in cuts to the five-year plan, still leaving the district with a projected $2.418 million deficit in fiscal 2007.
The administration will continue to look for ways to cut spending but will also look for ways to increase revenue, such as more grants, additional local funding and recruitment and retention of pupils, Funk said.
Loss of pupils
Youngstown has lost about 3,000 pupils to charter schools and the open enrollment program that allows pupils to enroll in other districts. State subsidies follow the pupils so the charter schools and the other public schools are getting about $20 million that would have come to Youngstown had those pupils stayed in the city schools.
Dr. Wendy Webb, superintendent, said the district is also looking at eliminating some programs as a cost-cutting measure. There may be a few programs the district can do without, she told the board.
gwin@vindy.com