State approves funds for McDonald schools’ deficit

By Marc Kovac

The state control board also released funds for two YSU projects.

COLUMBUS — A state lawmaker panel has approved a $2 million-plus loan to a Trumbull County school district placed in fiscal emergency late last week.

McDonald School District will have to pay back the advance within the next two fiscal years.

The state auditor’s office recently reviewed the district’s financial records and determined it was about $2 million short for covering costs through June 2010.

The state loan will cover the projected deficit. The district will have to cut costs or pass a levy to bring in additional funds to pay back the loan and eliminate future budget deficits.

It has a 4.9-mill emergency five-year operating levy on the November ballot, which would generate about $260,000 annually.

The loans are provided to districts that have been placed in fiscal emergency by the state auditor and that need financial assistance to pay their bills through the fiscal year.

There are two other districts in the state that are currently repaying the advances — Youngstown and Jefferson Local in Montgomery County, said Scott Blake, a spokesman for the Ohio Department of Education.

In other business, the board released $640,505 or renovations to Youngstown State University’s main administrative office building.

The funds are going toward a project to create a new formal entryway into Tod Hall, a former library constructed in 1952 that houses the offices of YSU’s president, provost and vice presidents for finance and administration and student affairs, according to documents.

The renovations are needed to switch the main entrance to the building from the south to the north. The funds released Monday will be used for glass doors, stairs, lighting and heating, cooling and air-conditioning improvements.

The board also OK’d YSU’s purchase of a vacant lot for future expansion of the university’s athletics facilities. The 0.333-acre lot is located near the intersection of Short Street and Broadway on the city’s North Side, and the purchase price was $20,300, according to documents.

mkovac@dixcom.com