Officials to put levy on ballot

The 6.9-mill levy is the pivotal issue to the district's financial turnaround.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
STRUTHERS -- The Struthers Board of Education and the state Financial Planning and Supervision Commission are expected to approve placing a five-year, 6.9-mill property tax levy on the May 2 primary ballot.
The board will meet in special session at 7:30 p.m. today, and the financial planning commission at 3:15 p.m. Wednesday to vote on the issue. The state commission has had fiscal oversight and control of the district since it was placed in fiscal emergency in May 2005.
At a special meeting last Friday, the board tabled the levy issue, saying it would delay putting it on the ballot until the November general election if it did not receive the state auditor's financial forecast for fiscal year 2006 in time to place it on the May 2 ballot. Fiscal year 2006 ends June 30. The levy would generate about $1,060,000 a year.
However, Dean Burns, who with fellow board of education members Robert Noble and Dennis Spisak, attended Monday's financial planning commission meeting, said after hearing a report of the state's audit that he expected the board to place the tax levy on the May ballot. The deadline for submitting a tax levy to the Mahoning County Board of Elections for the May 2 ballot is 4 p.m. Thursday, according to Struthers Schools Treasurer Michael Evanson.
Same forecasts
The state financial forecast and that of Evanson were essentially the same. The state estimated a balance of $36,000 at the end of fiscal year 2006, compared to $26,000 by state auditors.
Beginning in fiscal year 2007 (July 1), even with $273,000 worth of administrative cuts approved by the board in January that take effect July 1, the district would experience deficits, Evanson said.
Further, even if the levy is passed, collection of the new revenue would not begin until January 2007, meaning the district would receive only about $530,000 in fiscal year 2007, the treasurer said.
Besides new revenue from the levy, Evanson said his scenario for operating in the black includes delaying across-the-board staff raises until 2008.
Joseph Funai, commission chairman, said the 6.9-mill levy is "the pivotal issue" to the district's financial turnaround.
Still, commission member Paul Marshall said the levy, even without any adverse events, barely gets Struthers schools into the black for the next five years.
The assignment for the board is to get control of the cost of benefits, he said.
In other action, the state financial planning and supervision commission endorsed the administrative cuts made by the board in January and individual purchases exceeding $10,000, which totaled $344,452.
alcorn@vindy.com