City school officials outline spending spending spending

Much false information has been spread about spending practices of Youngstown schools, officials say.

By HAROLD GWIN

VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — Opponents of the Youngstown school levy defeated by voters a week ago said the district’s central office needs to make more cuts to reduce spending.

Things such as clothing and car allowances and cell phones for administrators should be eliminated before voters are again asked to approve a 9.5-mill, five-year tax levy to help eliminate a $15 million general fund budget deficit, according to some of the suggestions heard.

But just who gets a clothing allowance and just who is entitled to a car allowance?

No administrator has a clothing allowance, despite rumors being circulated that Dr. Wendy Webb, superintendent, is the beneficiary of such a program, said Carolyn Funk, district treasurer.

Tony DeNiro, assistant superintendent for school business affairs, said the only clothing allowance is for the district’s four bus mechanics to replace damaged or worn-out work clothing.

School officials said they came across a lot of misinformation being spread about district spending during the levy campaign, and some of it is still being circulated.

Only one administrator gets a car allowance, Funk said. That’s a $6,000 annual stipend to Webb as part of her contract, which is providing her with a $122,500 salary this year. Webb doesn’t charge for mileage driven or other vehicle operational expenses, Funk said.

As for cell phones, school officials say there are 60 of them, some assigned to some central office administrators and some to district-appointed community leaders who have to contact pupils’ homes on a daily basis.

Cell phones are the least expensive way to provide that latter group with the communications they need, Funk said.

District bus drivers carry them and other staff members and employees are assigned phones on an as-needed basis, said M. Mike McNair, district spokesman.

DeNiro pointed out the cell phones come free as part of the district’s cell phone package, and Youngstown pays only one-tenth of the cell phone charges.

That amounts to just $3,365 a year, McNair said.

The rest is reimbursed to the district through a federal telecommunications program (known as E-rate) for schools and libraries funded by fees assessed to companies that provide interstate and/or international telecommunications services, according to DeNiro.

The district has also been challenged on its purchasing practices, with levy opponents saying Youngstown needs to do some comparative shopping on a variety of items, such as copy paper.

“We do comparative purchasing,” DeNiro said. “The process is there.”

The district buys its copy paper about three times a year, and each time calls a half-dozen or more suppliers to get the best price, DeNiro said, adding, “We’ve always done that.”

The district has been questioned about the size of its 87-bus fleet when it is running only about 60 bus routes daily.

Not all of those buses are fully insured, DeNiro said, explaining that four or five are insured only for theft and fire and are basically used as parts for the running fleet.

Buses are put in and out of rotation daily for maintenance purposes and there is a constant need for additional buses for field trips and other activities, he said.

The bus fleet is aging, DeNiro said, noting some of the units are 1982 models. The state no longer helps pick up the tab for the purchase of new buses, he said.

There have also been suggestions that the district stop providing transportation for city children attending charter schools. That’s not an option under Ohio law, according to school officials.

If the city school district provides transportation for its children, it must do the same for charter and private schools operating in Youngstown.

DeNiro said the district sends 15 buses a day to Eagle Heights Academy on Market Street and lesser numbers to the other charter schools in the city.

Youngstown is spending about $3.5 million a year on transportation and about one-third of that cost can be attributed to charter and private school children, Funk said.

One of the big transportation issues is that, unlike a public neighborhood school that draws children from a specific geographic area, charter and private schools draw children from all over the city, and that drives up the cost of transportation, she said.

gwin@vindy.com