Columbiana schools treasurer says there’s no housing slump in district

By D.a. Wilkinson

Deficit projections are likely to change, the treasurer says.

COLUMBIANA — Columbiana property owners seem to be avoiding the national housing slump.

Lori Posey, the district treasurer, on Tuesday told the board, “Although the economy in general is not great, [housing] sales in the county are holding value.”

The district is now in fiscal year 2010, and the Columbiana County Auditor’s Office is wrapping up a mandatory value reappraisal of all properties in the county.

Posey said that she had talked to a representative of the appraisal firm and John Goemple, the chief deputy in the county auditor’s office.

In Columbiana, she said, a $100,000 home is, “selling at $100,000 or slightly above.”

That may not be the case with properties in poorer portions of the county, she added.

But for the district, Posey said, “There is no decline.”

Projections for the district indicate that the district’s $2.2 million revenue is expected to drop to $1.6 million in fiscal year 2011, to $455,000 in 2012, and then hit a $1.2 million deficit in 2012.

She said, however, those figures are not an immediate problem and are likely to change between now and then, such as through additional funding.

In other action, the Clippers News Net is spreading the word.

Superintendent Donald Mook said that teacher Jason Yeagley and a number of students have been making videos in and around the school.

The students will provide about 50 minutes of video each month on school and other events that can be seen on the district’s Web site.

Students literally are going out on assignment, such as interviewing the operators of the new Columbiana Maze Craze near state Routes 7 and 14.

“They’re getting out into the community,” Mook told the board. “They’re really learning about the media.”

The board also learned the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s fall publication features a front- page photo of Columbiana sophomore Ashley Lydic, a runner. School officials said the publication took the photo of her running last year.

wilkinson@vindy.com