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Parma Schools must solve $15 Million budget deficit

Residents angry with surprise budget deficit
Posted at 12:51 AM, Sep 13, 2016
and last updated 2016-09-13 11:12:07-04

Parents with the Parma Public Schools are upset with what many call a surprise $15 million dollar budget deficit faced by the ailing district over the next two years.

The shortfall was discovered by the districts relatively-new treasurer and was revealed by Superintendent Carl Hilling several weeks ago.

The shocking discovery has the Parma School Board scrambling to meet a Sept. 30 deadline in submitting the needed budget cuts to the State of Ohio.

Residents packed into the Parma Senior High School theater for a school board meeting on Sept. 12, some of them extremely angry with what they believe appears to be a major budget miscalculation.

Residents told the board that they should be part of the process in figuring out what cuts should be made, but with the budget deadline in just two weeks it's not likely residents will have much input.

Residents are concerned $15 million in cuts will cause multiple school building to close, including the possibility that both Normandy and Valley Forge High Schools could be consolidated into one super high school at Parma Senior High School.

Hilling told newsnet5.com he's still not sure where cuts will be made, but said a special meeting will be held this week to make those difficult proposals to the school board.