State places Niles school district in fiscal-caution status

NILES — Less than 16 months after successfully ending state-mandated fiscal watch, Niles City Schools’ finances have once again come under the scrutiny of the Ohio Department of Education.

A projected six-figure deficit has led the department to declare the school district in fiscal caution.

“At the present time, we [forecast] a $320,000 deficit by the end of the current fiscal year,” Superintendent Ann Marie Thigpen told The Vindicator on today.

“Fiscal caution requires us to submit a five-year forecast [free] of deficits.”

According to the ODE website, fiscal caution can be declared “if it is determined through the five-year forecast that conditions exist that could result in fiscal watch or fiscal emergency.”

Thigpen cited cuts in federal and state funding along with decreasing district enrollment as contributing to the latest financial difficulties. She said current enrollment numbers are 2,250, approximately 150 less students than in the previous school year.

For the complete story, read Tuesday's Vindicator and Vindy.com