Projected $363,000 deficit daunts district

The school district is losing its superintendent and a middle school principal.

By SEAN BARRON

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

BROOKFIELD — A five-year financial forecast shows a projected $363,000 shortfall by the end of June for the school district.

Much of the deficit is the result of the district’s spending about $202,000 on legal fees, much of it the result of a lawsuit filed by the Brookfield Federation of Teachers, as well as various grievances school personnel filed because of some actions by certain board members, Superintendent Michael Notar said at Saturday’s board meeting.

“That’s a tremendous amount of money for a district our size,” Notar said of the legal bill.

Toward the end of the 2005-06 school year, a board majority voted to move teachers’ salaries back to the 2004-05 level, prompting the litigation, Notar said.

A decision should be reached on the suit within a few months, he said, adding that if the court rules in favor of the teachers, the district will have to give them back pay, which could add to the deficit.

At the board’s last meeting, a motion was passed to have Treasurer Rhonda Baldwin pay all current bills and supplementals, as well as roughly $100,000 worth of legal fees, all of which totaled about $300,000, by the end of June, the superintendent said. The move exacerbated the district’s financial situation, he added.

Since spring 2006, the district has been under fiscal watch.

Resignations

Also at the session, the board voted to accept Notar’s resignation, effective July 31. He will leave after two years with the district to take a position as athletic director in the United School District, Columbiana County, and will receive about $10,000 less than his $75,000 salary.

Notar has maintained that recent controversy in the Brookfield district has played no part in his decision to take the new post.

The board also approved three other resignations, including that of Louise Mason as Brookfield Middle School principal, also effective July 31.

No replacements were mentioned at the meeting for the four resignations, though an interim superintendent could be appointed if a replacement for Notar isn’t found by Aug. 1, Board President Joseph Pasquerilla said.

Accusations

Several shouting matches between some residents and a board member punctuated the meeting, shortly after it got under way.

Some in the audience also accused certain board members of making draconian cuts while refusing to support a levy; others were upset by what they said was the district’s spending on legal fees against a backdrop of financial cuts.

Gwen Martino, a member of Save Our Schools, a parents group concerned about the welfare of the schools, said about 40 pupils have left the district this year because of open enrollment. That, combined with the cuts, is hurting the schools, she said.

“The system is in chaos,” Martino said, adding that only two levies have been passed in the last 18 years, the last in 1995.