Commission instructs BOE to find levy plan

The size of the levy isn’t expected to be less than the 9.5 mills rejected last fall.

By HAROLD GWIN

VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — The commission monitoring school district spending has directed the board of education to come up with a tax levy plan that will get rid of the district’s budget deficit within five years.

The Financial Planning and Supervision Commission said Thursday it wants the details by July 12.

The Rev. Michael Write, board president, said the body has no idea yet what size levy it will ask voters to approve in November, but indicated it wouldn’t be less than the 9.5-mill, five-year proposal turned down by votes last November.

The district is running a $15 million deficit this year, but that’s too large a burden to ask taxpayers to pick up at one time, Write said.

One mill of tax generates only $500,000 in revenue for the district.

The board needs to review the approach it took with the last levy attempt and develop a new approach to win voters’ support, Write said, explaining it will likely mean detailing what type of academic and other cuts might have to be made if the district can’t increase its revenue stream.

This isn’t a new issue for the board, said Jamael Tito Brown, vice president. “The issue is the amount.”

Fiscal problems

The state placed Youngstown under fiscal emergency last November after the district announced it expected to run a general fund budget deficit this year.

That resulted in the appointment of the oversight commission, which has taken control of district spending.

Philip Binkley, commission interim chairman, said school districts in fiscal emergency typically have to resolve their deficits through a combination of cutbacks and increased revenue.

Youngstown has made substantial cuts this year and for the 2007-08 school year, which begins July 1, reducing staff by about 250 jobs and cutting spending by about $17 million a year.

Those reductions and the fact that more cuts are probable must be pointed out to the voters before they’re asked to give the district more money, Binkley said.

He also pointed out that the size of the deficit may be too large to deal with in one lump sum, suggesting the district may have to do it in pieces. A 9-mill increase wouldn’t do the job, he said.

The district was able to balance this year’s budget through a $15 million loan from the state, but that debt has to be repaid over a two-year period and only delays dealing with the deficit.

The commission’s tax levy directive instructs the board to work with the Mahoning County auditor to estimate the size of a tax levy “needed to produce a positive fund balance” within five years.

gwin@vindy.com