The sudden impact of the loss of some $1 million in property taxes from the co-called non-profit St. Elizabeth Hospital on McClurg Rd,; coupled with the loss of tangible personal property tax revenues from the state of Ohio has resulted in projected general fund deficit of an estimated $3.4 million in the Boardman Local School System, Supt. Tim Saxton and Treasurer Nicholas Ciarniello said this week.
      Facing projected deficit spending, the local school board will place a 5.8-mil, additional tax levy before the electorate in the May primary elections. If approved, the levy would generate $4.9 million annually over a ten-year period, Supt. Saxton told The Boardman News.
      Additionally, Saxton said the revenue and expenditure streams calculated last May “did not reflect current conditions.”
      Last May, a five-year forecast projected deficit spending in the local school district, with projected revenue set at $43.6 million, and expenditures projected at $45.6 million.
      However, after consultation and study conducted with the aid of a private firm, those numbers were updated to reflect the district’s changed financial condition, Ciarniello said.
      Revenue streams are now currently projected at $43.3 million for the general fund, while expenses are projected at $46.6 million.
      The school superintendent said increased expenses for certified and non-certified staff approved by the school board last year do not have an adverse impact on the budget, noting those increases were offset by caps placed on board payments for health benefits.
      “School districts are seeing six per cent increases in health care costs per year, whereas Boardman has capped their increases to 1.5 per cent to 2.5 per cent,” Saxton said.
      The superintendent said revenue streams from state sources are capped at $9.4 million; and the Boardman Local School District is the only district in Mahoning County where the ‘cap’ is applied.
      “This system of state funding does not allow our district to receive more benefits from economic growth,” Saxton said.
      Boardman Local School Board President Jeff Barone, said the system has actively cut payroll expenses “through attrition,” adding the district has among the lowest starting salaries of any district in Mahoning County.
      “We have to make decisions to remain competitive when we hire new staff,” Barone said.
      “We are working to provide the students of our district with sources of funding that are sustainable over the next decade,” Saxton said.
      Without additional funding, the system’s annual carryover would be reduced from approximately $7 million, to $3.5 million, Saxton and Ciarniello said.
      According to the Boardman Local School District’s amended official certificate of estimated resources, the system operates on a overall annual revenue stream of some $70.369 million.