TCTC treasurer: Keep eye on reimbursementsSFlb

staff report

CHAMPION — The Trumbull Career and Technical Center Board of Education was warned by its treasurer that it might have to consider changes to the amount of its transportation reimbursements to the 19 school districts supplying students to the facility.

Gary Ghizzoni said TCTC is in its third year of reimbursing a total of $75,000 to the districts each year from its general fund. The districts receive the funds for qualifying with various school policies.

“This is a five-year program and that means we will have distributed $375,000 by the end of it in 2010,” Ghizzoni said. “Somewhere down the road, we’re going to have to determine whether we have enough finances to keep this in place.”

Reimbursements to each of the districts vary. The largest amount, more than $7,500, goes to Warren while some of the smaller reimbursements, averaging $2,500 goes to such districts as Maplewood and Blooomfield-Mespo.

“It’s not a lot of money for each district, but it’s quite a bit for us when you look at the totals,” Ghizzoni said.

The treasurer said that the reimbursements are not a policy, but rather an incentive for the schools to provide more students to TCTC.

In another financial item, Ghizzoni said that TCTC anticipates a carryover of $9 million this year, but projects that the amount could fall to $6 million in four years.

“Like everyone else, we’ll have to watch our funds,” Ghizzoni said. “Things are getting tight for all of us.”