Warren schools treasurer gives warning in final 5-year forecast

WARREN

Angela Lewis gave her final five-year forecast as Warren schools treasurer, saying the district will reach a point of having only a $3 million fund balance in 2023 if lots of unexpected-but-possible bad fiscal situations occur.

Lewis, whose last day with the district is Nov. 16, will be replaced by Karen Sciortino, who has been working alongside Lewis and learning the ropes since April.

The district has not gone to voters for additional operating money – only a bond levy for new schools – since 1994.

And that’s good because it is difficult in a school district that is not affluent, like Warren, to get approval for an additional levy, Lewis said Wednesday.

For that reason, the district has “squirreled away” funds it has received since a 2014 change in the state funding formula that “has been driving funding to poorer districts,” she said. The district has a fund balance of $35 million in the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, 2019.

Read more about the situation in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.