Youngstown schools wrestle with deficit

YOUNGSTOWN — The good news is that the city school district’s deficit spending so far this year isn’t as bad as had been predicted. The bad news is that the red ink has hit the $7.8 million mark so far, and school officials say the total deficit is still likely to reach $12 million by the end of the fiscal year, June 30.

Carolyn Funk, district treasurer, told the board of education Tuesday that earlier projections had expected the deficit to reach $8.8 million by now in a general fund budget of about $114 million.

The state has put Youngstown under a fiscal emergency declaration which resulted in the creation of a state-appointed financial oversight commission to monitor district spending. All expenditures must go through the commission which has said that a fiscal recovery plan, in addition to extensive cuts, must include asking voters to approve an additional tax levy in November. The amount of that levy hasn’t been determined.

For the complete story, see Wednesday's Vindicator and Vindy.com