Ohio auditor release Niles schools from fiscal watch

By Jordan Cohen | June 30, 2016 at 12:00a.m.

NILES

Ohio Auditor Dave Yost made it official.

After 13 years, the Niles City School District is finally out from under state-designated fiscal watch.

Yost attended a special board of education meeting Wednesday to congratulate the administration and board for getting finances in order and the community for its support.

He presented Superintendent Ann Marie Thigpen and Treasurer Linda Molinaro with a “Certificate of Fiscal Integrity.”

“The community owes you a real round of gratitude,” he told the board.

The state auditor had placed the district in fiscal watch in 2003 after it reported an operating deficit of $2.9 million.

“The district has spent more than a decade trying to find the right balance between expenditures and revenues,” he said in a news release before his appearance.

Yost said the administration, teachers, employees and voters have played a role in the district’s recovery.

He said the administration made tough choices by reducing staff, trimming costs of benefits and requiring employee payment of 10 percent of health costs. He cited voter approval and renewal of an emergency levy that generated $1.3 million to help bring the schools into the black.

Yost said the district’s financial forecast through 2020 projects a positive fund balance, but warned of ongoing financial challenges.

“The tough part is ahead, so if you see any deviations, act on them,” he advised the board.