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BELLAIRE - The Bellaire Local School Board of Education held a special meeting Tuesday to weigh some options for dealing with the budget deficit that now has the school district in "Fiscal Emergency."

Early in the meeting, the board met in executive session to discuss employment and personnel and negotiations, which was followed by discussion on the amount of millage needed to get the district back in fiscal solvency.

One of the factors the school district has to deal with now is that along with original $2.4 million deficit predicted, there is also a $690,000 deficit in the school district's food service, making the total deficit more than $3 million projected at the end of the school year.

According to Superintendent Tony Scott, the food service deficit is something the school district is also working on.

"There will be a reorganization of our food service to address this issue," Scott said. "We've already started with some reductions mid-year."

To deal with the overall deficit, Scott gave the board some options that included cost-saving measures through a reduction in force and a levy to raise revenue.

A reduction in force would save the district $1.2 million a year and an additional $200,000 could be saved a year with cuts in supplies.

"The hard part is going to be coming to those decisions that will put people out of work," Scott said. "Again, it comes down to keeping the organization at the forefront. It's not about individuals, it's about our school district . . . and if it's not here, none of us will be here. But once we get over this hump, and we will get over it, we'll be headed in the right direction."

But cuts won't be enough to eliminate the deficit. Scott said he and Treasurer Tara Boyer worked through several scenarios to see what it would take to get the district back in the black financially.

One mill in the school district generates $108,234, Scott said.

The options Scott showed the board included a 9.9 mill levy, 10.9 mills levy, 11.9 mills and 12.9 mills, but will still leave the district in the red for several more year.

"We do turn the corner at some point, even with this 12.9, but the commission isn't going to want to set up camp here and wait for us to get through this," Scott said. "If you look at the 15.9 mill projection, you can see it turns around pretty quick in 2013 and if you continue to watch your spending, we can work our way out of this. But we have to make a decision on what this millage has to be."

Scott said he would have a recommendation during the board's next regular meeting, scheduled for Monday.

The district has until Feb. 12 to submit a resolution to the county auditor's office to get a levy on the ballot for the May Primary Election.

"The district is going to look different when we start school next year and we are going to continue to mold and shape and modify that until we get within the guidelines of our finances to make sure we stay with a healthy carryover," Scott said. "That has got to be our goal."

Also attending the meeting was Dr. Jacklyn Osborne, chair of the Financial Planning and Supervision Commission of the Bellaire Local School District, who said the district is taking the right steps to correct the deficit.

The commission is charged with finding a workable solution to get the school district out of the deficit that caused the district to be declared in a state of "Fiscal Emergency."

"It's heartening to see the involvement of board members and the communication from your superintendent and treasurer to put together a plan that will be viable for your school community," Osborne said. "We do understand how difficult it is. We do appreciate your work and look forward to working with you through this."

In other news, the board approved a motion to keep Jose Davis as varsity head football coach. The board also accepted the resignation of Monte Miller as athletic director.

Schuler may be reached at shoe@timesleaderonline.com