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Valley school districts would gain, lose state money in new budget
By Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
Of the 44 school districts in the Mahoning Valley, 25 would see their state funding decrease, while 19 would increase, according to the most-recent state budget figures.
The numbers, however, are likely to change. Gov. John Kasich released his budget this week, but it’s expected to get tweaked before heading to the General Assembly where more changes are expected before passage.
In Mahoning County, Austintown, Boardman, Campbell, Sebring, Struthers and Youngstown would see their funding increase next year while Canfield, Jackson-Milton, Lowellville, Poland, South Range, Springfield, West Branch and Western Reserve would get less.
In Trumbull, Bristol, Champion, Girard, Howland, Hubbard, Lake-view, Liberty, Lordstown, Niles, Weathersfield and Warren would see more funding while Bloomfield-Mesopotamia, Brookfield, Joseph Badger, LaBrae, Maplewood, Mathews, McDonald, Newton Falls and Southington would get less.
In Columbiana, four districts, Columbiana, Crestview, Salem and Wellsville would get increases while the other six — East Liverpool, East Palestine, Leetonia, Lisbon, Southern and United — would see decreases.
Alex Geordan, Canfield superintendent, said there’s been a lot of talk in Columbus about the state wanting to support success and accountability, and to see how districts use the funds appropriately and effectively.
“In Canfield, we have a very high performing school system,” he said. “We’ve been showing success over a period of time. We have a history of it. To me, it does not look like [Kasich is] supporting success at this point. We’re blessed to have an outstanding community supporting us. We passed a levy and we feel like we’re on the right track with our curricular offerings and then we see this. I don’t know how he’s supporting success by this statement here.”
Poland Superintendent David Janofa and Treasurer Donald Stanovcak said the loss to that district — $139,000 from 2015 to 2016 — is significant. With the money the district would lose, for example, it could buy three school buses, the treasurer said.
The district already is facing the loss of 330 students over the next 10 years, according to projections, Janofa said.
“It shows why we need to take action,” he said. “Inaction is not an option.”
That’s why the district is looking at consolidating schools and re-purposing buildings, Janofa said.
State Sen. Joe Schiavoni of Boardman, D-33rd, said districts such as Poland and Canfield with higher wealth capacity are likely to be upset.
“And they should be,” he said.
Just because a district is considered wealthy, that doesn’t mean voters will easily approve a levy, Schiavoni said.
Ron Iarussi, superintendent of the Mahoning County Educational Service Center, and James Herrholtz, deputy superintendent, emphasized the budget will undergo many different incarnations before it’s finalized.
James Reinhard, Youngstown City Schools treasurer, said it’s a good start. “We don’t know how it’s going to shake out. In our five-year forecast, we assumed a slight decrease in state funding,” he said.
Since the budget must go through several more steps before it’s final, it’s too soon to celebrate, he said.
“It looks like the interest is there to increase money going to education,” Reinhard said. “That’s appreciated, welcome and appreciated.”
Austintown Superintendent Vince Colaluca said he was expecting a decrease because of the continued phasing out of the tangible personal property tax.
“Our blessing is it’s not a reduction,” he said. “We’re pleased with that. We know this is a long haul and there’s a lot of compromising that goes on with the budget.”
Campbell Superintendent Matthew Bowen and Treasurer Nora Montanez, in a statement, said that while the initial numbers look favorable, it represents only a small part of district finances.
“The projected estimated final core aid proposal reveals an approximate 10 percent increase or additional revenues of $1,181,650.00,” they said. “Although this information is promising it cannot be viewed as an overall financial increase to the district’s bottom line. Additional excess costs and unfunded mandates will need to be assessed to determine overall revenues.”
That information will be included in the district’s five-year forecast, which will be updated in May.
“We will not fully be able to identify the impact of this new proposed funding formula,” they said. “We know these preliminary calculations are subject to change.”
The state Office of Budget and Management says Kasich’s budget provides nearly $700 million in school foundation funding growth over the next two years, with a focus on directing state support to the districts with less capacity to meet their own needs.
The per-pupil funding increases from $5,800 this year to $5,900 next year and $6,000 in 2017.
It also weans districts off of the state guarantee, a promise of a certain amount of funding for certain districts regardless of changes such as property valuation changes or enrollment growth or loss.