Like many school districts in Ohio, the Auditor of State has swooped in to make sure Newton Falls can cut and tighten its belt back to fiscal responsibility.  For starters, the school board voted to suspend busing for students in grades nine through twelve for the 2008-2009 school year.

"When you look at oil, mechanics, tire, wear and tear on the buses and that, we figure this way it's about a cost savings of about ninety-seven thousand for us by doing it this way.", says Superintendent David Wilson.

It's no surprise the high cost of diesel has done a number on the district.  Wilson says this past school year, Newton Falls was thirteen to fifteen thousand dollars over budget on fuel costs alone.  And replacing an old bus with a new one comes with a hefty price tag, and little help from Columbus.  Wilson says,

"You take, for example even now, a seventy-five thousand dollar bus, the State gives us seven thousand towards it, and they give it to us at the end of the year, not necessarily when we're paying for it."

Wilson says more cuts could come in other areas, besides transportation.  "We are not replacing an elementary kindergarten teacher until we see the numbers, we're waiting to see what our numbers are in first grade, to see whether or not we have to add a teacher there, we know we're not replacing an elementary guidance counselor at this particular time, we've changed from one and a half school nurses down to only one for the complex..."

Wilson wants to limit the impact on the students and their education, but he says after twenty years with no new operating levy, the cuts have to be made somewhere.