More Ohio school districts face fiscal woes

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Ohio education officials are expecting a jump in the number of school districts statewide that can’t pay all their bills, partly because so many local school levies were voted down last November.

Of Ohio’s 613 school districts, 17 are classified as in “fiscal caution,” which means the districts are running a small budget deficit. But over the next year, 80 new districts are expected to move into the category.

School districts that have been placed in fiscal caution must outline to the state how it will prevent further financial difficulties. Districts that don’t balance their budgets and run deficits greater than 15 percent are eventually put in “fiscal emergency” in which the state takes control of the local budget process.