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Austintown bracing for enrollment drop after plant idles
By JUSTIN DENNIS
AUSTINTOWN
General Motors’ decision to idle its Lordstown plant could have a “big ripple” effect, said Austintown School District officials, who fear the district could lose hundreds of students whose parents may relocate after losing their jobs at the plant, which is minutes from Austintown.
“This is such a large domino effect that I don’t think people are grasping it yet,” board member Harold Porter said during a Wednesday board meeting.
Vince Colaluca, district superintendent, said administrators are considering ways to support families facing unemployment when the plant winds down in March, such as registering more students for free or reduced lunch or offering athletic passes.
“As soon as they get into a situation of unemployment, they can take advantage of it,” he said.
Administrators also want to count the number of district families employed by the plant. Colaluca said administrators have learned many plant employees have received out-of-state relocation offers and estimated the district could lose more than 200 students.
District Treasurer Ryan Ghizzoni said the district lost about 200 students in just the past year – “and that was without any of these factors.”
“That’s a curveball,” board President Don Sherwood said. “If it happens, you’re talking about something that’s 120 days away.”
Colaluca said he has met with Lordstown schools Superintendent Terry Armstrong, and the district will be reaching out to other companies that do business with GM, such as Comprehensive Logistics in the township, to calculate the impact to the district.