Niles board puts levies on ballot

January 16, 2013 at 12:00a.m.

NILES

In its first meeting of 2013, the board of education Monday unanimously and without discussion voted to place two additional levies on the May primary ballot.

One of the two, a 10-year, 4.65-mill operating levy would, if approved, generate $1.1 million annually according to Linda Molinaro, district treasurer. The other, a 1-mill issue for permanent improvements, would run for five years and raise $237,000 each year.

“We are in deficit spending, and this is the best course of action based on the information we have,” said Frank Danso, Niles interim superintendent. “We have to do something to move out of the deficit-spending area.”

The financial problems facing Niles have been building for some time. Last October, Molinaro released her five-year financial forecast that projects a $1.4 million deficit in 2016 and a $2.9 million deficit by the end of school year 2017. The red-ink forecast for the end of the current school year is $83,000.

Districts that are unable to eliminate sizable financial deficits run the risk of being declared in fiscal emergency in which a state-appointed financial planning and supervision commission takes over school finances. That is the case with Liberty schools, which have been in fiscal emergency since July 2011.

Niles averted a potential fiscal emergency declaration early last year when voters approved a renewal levy.

“We know the position we’re in, and we need to go back to the people and ask for their help,” said board member Chris Doutt. “We’ve got some good points with our superintendent and our new buildings, so I think we’re going to be fine.”

Danso said the opening of the new high school scheduled for April 1 will help the district reduce its energy costs. The high school and the two elementary schools under construction will use geothermal heating. “They will be more energy efficient by using less natural gas and will keep the buildings cool by lessening the use of air conditioners,” Danso said.

In the meantime, the superintendent said he and a committee are busy developing a safety plan for the new high-school building in the wake of the school shootings in Newtown, Conn., last month. “It’s our top priority right now, and we’re hoping to bring it to an end in the next couple of weeks.”