J-M treasurer: Ohio woes could mean district cuts

By Sean Barron

Thirty-five percent of the district’s funding is from the state, the treasurer said.

NORTH JACKSON — How will another state budget deficit, of about $640 million this fiscal year, affect the Jackson-Milton School District?

According to projections by the Office of Budget and Management and the Ohio Department of Taxation, the state is in worse economic shape than what was envisioned earlier this year, when a first round of budget cuts were made.

That was some of the bleak economic news brought up during Thursday’s school board meeting.

Additionally, a $7.3 billion shortfall is predicted for fiscal year 2010-11, according to the OBM. That has prompted the federal agency to ask school districts and other entities to anticipate 10 percent less funding over the next two years.

Such a move would translate into about $250,000 worth of cuts annually for the district, Treasurer John Zinger noted. The district receives around $2.5 million, or roughly 35 percent, of its yearly funding from the state, Zinger added.

The funding reductions, however, would likely be offset if a $5 billion federal block grant that Gov. Ted Strickland asked for comes through, he continued. Strickland recently met with President-elect Barack Obama to appeal for the money, which would help bail out the state budget as part of a $100 billion federal aid package for the states, Zinger noted.

School officials hope to have a clearer picture of the upcoming budget in January, Superintendent Kirk Baker said.

In other business, the board received an update of construction to the new $14.5 million, 81,000-square-foot high school/middle school slated to open in September 2009.

The roof and various door frames and windows are being added; in addition, some gas and water lines are being installed and the duct work is in progress, the board was told.

The school on Mahoning Avenue next to the elementary school will be for pupils in grades seven through 12.