Staff photo / J.T. Whitehouse Canfield Local School District Treasurer Ben Marko presents his five-year forecast at Wednesday’s board meeting that shows deficit spending and the possible need for new money in a few years.

CANFIELD — School District Treasurer Ben Marko presented his first five-year forecast since taking office Jan. 1 and it shows the district is in deficit spending this year, which will accelerate in coming years.

“Keep in mind the five-year forecast is a projection,” Marko said. “It can change.”

His presentation showed deficit spending would last through 2028 and in 2029, the district would have erased its carryover balance and have a negative cash balance.

His presentation included a pie-chart that displayed the district’s income. Canfield is projected to receive

$22.80 million from real estate property taxes and $1.31 million from public utility taxes. Expected income from the state totals $8.28 million with most coming from the state’s Fair School Funding Plan and from the state share of local taxes. Total revenue from all sources is expected to bring in $31.61 million.

On the expense side, Marko showed the district’s general fund expenses to be $33.08 million, which showed a projected loss of $1,463,191 for this year. For 2026, that brought the district’s ending cash balance from $13.1 million down to $11.6 million by June 30. Every year will see more loss of the carryover balance until it is gone in 2028.

“I would say we are already in distress status because we are deficit spending,” Marko said.

He said the state looks at how many days a district can operate on the carryover balance it has should there be no more revenue. In 2022, the district could go 223 days on the carryover balance. In 2026, it dropped to 128 days, and in 2028, it will drop to 44 days. The 50-day mark is considered the minimum where the district should be.

School board member Nader Atway asked, “Seeing where we are at, doing nothing going forward is not an option. How do we increase revenue without going to voters?”

Marko replied, “Trying to do little things to narrow the gap won’t work. We need to have a good plan in place next year.”

School Board President Steve DeMaiolo said the district has a financial committee that will meet soon to discuss options.

“We face a lot of financial challenges and our buildings are getting old,” he said. “Our goal as a board is to bridge the gap with the community. We want to hear from the residents.”

Marko said aging buildings and insurance costs are impacting the carryover balance. He said insurance is expected to increase by 10%, which is a big jump.

In other business, resident and teacher Leslie Zorella asked the board to consider starting school after the Canfield Fair. She said starting school, then breaking for the fair is hard on kids. She also mentioned August as a tough time to be in a classroom.

“August is better for outdoor enjoyment,” Zorella said. “Going to school in August can be extremely hot. I think we should start school after Labor Day.”

Superintendent Joe Knoll said the calendar is put together with input from the teachers union.