WEST SALEM The Northwestern Local Schools District reported a positive turnaround in its fiscal status based on budget reductions and an accounting error by the treasurer.
The district s fluctuating financial condition has ranged from a near desperate situation at the end of 2020, to a projected ending carryover balance of $3.3 million at the end of this school year.
That s the good news. The bad news is budget-cutting reductions were made based on incorrect information.
Treasurer Lesa Forbes did not reconcile the five-year forecast with actual budget numbers, resulting in an accounting discrepancy of $1.2 million. The board followed the data on the five-year forecast, believing it had $1.2 million fewer dollars available.
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Northwestern School Board tracks academic progress
Linda Hall
The Northwestern Local Schools District board of education heard from district personnel that students learning is making good headway, despite the challenges presented by the pandemic and the combination of classroom and remote learning.
At the elementary school level, the good news is that the recently posted third-grade standardized testing scores documented 58 percent of Northwestern s third-grade students achieving proficiency as measured against just 37 percent of third-grade students statewide reaching the proficiency level.
Comparatively, Our kiddos knocked it out of the park, said Nicole McQuate, the assistant principal of Northwestern Elementary School, telling the board that in January students will be identified for intervention and parents will be notified of the game plan.