North Canton City Schools 'In Limbo' Awaiting Definitive State Budget Numbers

Not a lot's certain when North Canton City School officials think about how Gov. John Kasich's two-year state budget proposal will affect the district.

But district treasurer Todd Tolson said he's pretty sure the $2.9 million coming in annually from the district's recently passed levy won't totally be used for what they had originally been intended.

That's because the school district planned for a 10 percent cut in state money, and those levy dollars — from the 4.5-mill levy approved in November — will be needed to fill in the gaps left by that decreased state funding.

"We always knew there were going to be some kind of cuts or reductions; we just didn't know how much," Tolson said this week. "In fact, we still don't know how much it's going to be."

The House of Representatives and Senate must pass Kasich's proposal for 2012 and 2013 before he approves it. That won't come until June.

State dollars make up between 40 and 42 percent of the school's budget, Superintendent Michael Gallina said.

"The uncertainty makes it a challenge to plan effectively," he said.

School officials might have a clearer picture of what to expect after viewing a district-by-district public school funding chart released Thursday.

The North Canton City School District is forecasted to get 0.4 percent fewer state dollars in 2012 than it did this year, according to the funding chart. The district received about $12,658,000 in the 2011 fiscal year, and it's expected to receive about $12,607,000 in 2012.

Down to the exact dollar, that's a loss of $49,225.

A statement released by the Ohio Office of Budget and Management indicates that the funding was determined based on several factors, including each school district’s property value, how much federal stimulus funding the district received and the district’s populations.

These numbers were entered into a formula that was created to ease the burden of the loss in federal stimulus funds to schools that have become heavily dependent on them.

Of the 17 Stark County public schools, six are to see decreased funding in 2012.

Tolson said the district had planned for a 10 percent reduction in state money and said the levy money coming in might be used for other purposes now.

He gave a couple examples of some changes the district may have to deal with. Tolson said the Stark County Educational Service Center, which offered services to the district for free, may have to start charging.

And Stark Developmental Disabilities may also see reductions, which could mean increased expenses to ensure students get the care they need.

Still, school officials can't say for certain what services or programs will suffer as a result of state cuts, but Gallina said they will take the initial projection and work it into the district's budget to come up with a "worst-case scenario" and create a plan for a balanced budget.

From there they might end up with four or five budget scenarios.

"This all works alongside such things as contract negotiations and the impact of Senate Bill 5," Gallina said. "So we have to make sure (with) each of the processes ... we work these in unison so that our plan is good at the end."

Editor's Note: Beachwood Patch editor Nikki Ferrell contributed to this report.