Last week, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced a $775 million reduction to the state's budget as the result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
With those cuts largely affecting Medicaid and education, school districts across the street will see a decrease in funding, including Strongsville City Schools, which said it will lose 17 percent ($1.6 million) of its funding over the course of the next two months as a result of the cuts.
In a press release on Monday, Strongsville City Schools treasurer George Anagnostou said the district anticipates additional cuts in the near future. Anagnostou will present the district’s five-year forecast at the May 21, 2020 Board of Education meeting and will incorporate multiple scenarios due to estimated state funding reductions and other current economic factors.
“We have been anticipating reductions from the state for several weeks and expect that future reductions are likely to occur. Our District continues to proactively manage and look for efficiencies in our budget," Anagnostou said in a release. "The recent reductions announced by the Governor will have an impact on our current budget, as well as forecasts for the next few years. The Treasurer’s Department will be working with stakeholders across our District to formulate plans to minimize the effects of these reductions in state funds to our annual budget."
“Financial Prudence is one of our three goals for the district. The recent cuts announced by the governor will directly challenge this goal. However, as a District, we are committed to doing what is in the best interest of our students in a fiscally responsible way, within the parameters and expectations of our taxpayers. We have an excellent leadership team in our District, which will continue to develop short-and long-term plans with these, and potential future budget reductions in mind,” said Richard Micko, President of Strongsville’s Board of Education.