Local News
Conneaut school board told tough times ahead
CONNEAUT — Uncertain funding in the months to come means the Conneaut Area City Schools District must cut spending to the bone and reduce staff where possible, Superintendent Kent Houston said at Thursday’s Board of Education meeting.
“We can’t let our financials get out of hand,” he said. “We have to keep trimming and trimming by attrition so people don’t lose their jobs.”
Houston’s words came hours before lawmakers agreed to delay the final round of state income-tax cuts, a move that will fill a projected $850 million budget gap. Without the compromise, school funding would have had to make up the gap.
Forecasts see the Conneaut district on the brink of fiscal caution in 2011, Houston said. Federal stimulus money has helped keep local schools in the black, but problems will arise when the funds run out, Houston said.
Conditions would have worsened considerably without the income-tax-cut delay, a plan promoted by Gov. Ted Strickland. Conneaut faced a multimillion-dollar loss of funding had the education budget borne the brunt of the shortfall, officials said.
The tax-cut delay will affect Ohioans to varying degrees. People making $18,000 or less, will pay $2 more for 2009 than they would have had they received the 4.2 percent reduction in the tax rate, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. People earning $319,000 or more, will pay $1,980 more.
The majority of Ohioans earn between $32,000 and $76,000 a year and will pay an additional $37 to $69.
Strickland says he plans to revive the cut for the 2011 tax year, but others aren’t so sure, citing the state’s budget woes, which will be amplified when federal stimulus funding is exhausted.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this story.
- Local News
-
-
'Bula teen drowns after leap from lighthouse
A trip to Lake Erie with friends turned tragic Tuesday night for a 19-year-old Ashtabula man.
-
Body found in Lampson Reservoir
The body of an adult male was found in the Lampson Reservoir on Wednesday evening, the Jefferson Emergency Rescue District reports.
-
Trash bin arsonists may have started house fire
Arsonists who have set nearly two dozen fires inside trash containers in the city of Ashtabula this month may be seeking bigger — and potentially more dangerous — prey, fire officials said.
-
Local charities, auxiliaries, unions on IRS warning list
From the Ashtabula Community Players to the local chapter of Vietnam Veterans of America, scores of Ashtabula County nonprofit organizations are in danger of losing their favored status with the Internal Revenue Service.
-
Entrance to I-90 reopened
The west-bound entrance to Interstate 90 from Route 193 was re-opened Wednesday, but another closing is in the works for next week.
-
Proposed Geneva tax credit to create jobs
Geneva City Council will hold a special public meeting Friday to discuss the Ohio Job Creation Tax Credit Program for the joint economic development district with Harpersfield Township, a program introduced in April by former Growth Partnership for Ashtabula County executive director Joseph Mayernick.
-
PV board to place levy on November ballot
The Pymatuning Valley Local Board of Education recently passed a resolution to place an “emergency renewal levy” before voters in November.
-
Sheriff action against county set for November
Sheriff William Johnson will have his day in court, but he’ll have to wait another 3 1/2 months to get it.
-
Formal charges filed against men in domestic dispute
The father who allegedly took a shot at his daughter’s ex-boyfriend Saturday night after a domestic altercation was released from jail Tuesday, Municipal Court officials said.
Harvey Jones, 49, of Ashtabula, was charged with felonious assault and discharging a firearm within the city limits, court officials said. -
Man charged in Geauga crash
The Chagrin Falls man who slammed his truck into a car at a traffic light has been charged with operating a vehicle while under the influence and aggravated vehicular assault, Ohio State Highway Patrol Sgt. Chad Bass said.
- More Local News Headlines
-
'Bula teen drowns after leap from lighthouse
