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No deficits seen for McDonald schools
By Mary Smith
McDONALD
The McDonald Board of Education has approved a new five-year forecast, which Treasurer Bill Johnson said reflects the result of aggressive work to reduce costs after the district was placed in state fiscal emergency in September 2009.
Year-end projected cash balances for the district now are: $2.657 million for fiscal year 2014; $3.639 million for 2015; $4.449 million for 2016; $5.037 million for 2017 and $5.421 million for 2018.
The district’s annual budget for 2014 is $5.877 million.
Funding uncertainties still remain a problem for the district, Johnson noted, including what the result will be for ongoing negotiations with teachers, which will be followed by negotiations with non-teaching employees.
Teachers with the McDonald Education Association and OAPSE No. 662 continue to work under contract extensions, after their previous three-year pacts expired Aug. 31.
Johnson said there had been an increase in state foundation money to the district, but lower enrollment figures cut into it.
There are several categories of enrollment to be considered, including local enrollment, open enrollment, charter schools, online schools and vocational enrollment to the Trumbull County Career & Technical Center.
The population of local students has decreased from 675 in 2012-2013 to 653 in 2013-2014.
Open enrollment of students coming into the district has dropped from 179 last year to 174 this year. Open enrollment out of the district is at 68 for 2013-2014, up from 64 last year.
The vocational school enrollment has added 10.5 students to 24.5 from last year’s 14 students.
These changes downard have all cut into expected increases in state foundation funds.
“We are still going to be in really good shape,” Johnson said, adding, however: “We thought we were going to be in a fantastic state.”
He said the district cut about $1 million in costs when it was under fiscal emergency, which ended Feb. 28, 2012, and under the control of the State Finance and Planning Commission.
He noted the district found itself in a catastrophe with a deficit of more than $2 million, and will have to readjust now that the crisis is over.
The district is down from 61 teachers to 51. He noted the commission made the board make cuts and pass a levy. There are no new levy renewals until May 2014, when an emergency levy that generates $260,000 a year for five years will need to be passed.