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Board Oks five-year forecast
by christine keeling
austintown
The district treasurer projects that the schools will be more than $23 million in debt by 2016.
The Austintown school board voted Tuesday to approve the district treasurer’s five-year forecast during a special meeting at its administration building.
The projection reveals the district will close the 2012 fiscal year with a surplus of $3,014,760, but fall short by $2,490,728 in 2013, $9,338,833 in 2014, $16,166,910 in 2015 and $23,452,487 in 2016. Fiscal years run from July 1 to June 30.
By law, Ohio schools must send the five-year financial reports to the Department of Education every six months.
Mary Anne Herschel, the district’s treasurer, said the deficit, in part, comes from a decrease in state and federal revenue.
Although, she said, open enrollment has offset some of the loss.
The school system has 525 students on its roster from outside the district.
During the meeting, members of the board inquired whether more students from outside the district could be enrolled to increase revenue.
Superintendent Vince Colaluca estimated the district could handle approximately 600 open-enrollment students.
The district receives $5,700 for each student it accepts through open enrollment.
Herschel said, the district can look to cut spending by looking at every expenditure it makes.
“The ultimate goal is to preserve what goes on in the classroom,” Herschel said. “We need to do what we do more efficiently.”
She said the district will be working in 2012 to save money to help offset the projected deficit in 2013. An operating levy also might need to be looked at, she said.