MIDDLETOWN — The Middletown City Schools will remain solvent for three years if voters renew emergency levies due to expire in the next few years.

        And while district officials are optimistic about the schools' overall financial health, they are concerned over the rising number of Middletown students who are opting to leave the district and enroll in charter schools.

        When students leave, state dollars are subtracted from the district's allocation, said Edmund Pokora, treasurer for the district.

        About 145 students are enrolled in four charter schools, costing the district about $800,000 in state aid, Mr. Pokora said. That number could increase, depending on how many students enroll in a fifth charter school opening this fall.

        “We're expecting a $4 million loss over the next five years,” Mr. Pokora said.

        “It's very difficult to watch that kind of money flow out of the public school district for something (charter schools) that doesn't have the same accountability as the public schools,” said Superintendent Steve Price. “They are very serious competitors in the educational field, but the playing field is not level.”

        A revised five-year projection shows the district will end the 2004-05 school year with a balance of just over $3 million. The following year the district faces a $691,023 deficit, even assuming voters renew an emergency levy in 2004 that generates $4.1 million, and a $6.7 million emergency levy in 2005.

        “At this point the financial forecast looks good for the next three to four years,” Mr. Pokora said.

        He warned that could change, however, depending on state aid, enrollment, insurance costs and other factors. Mr. Pokora said the proportion of the budget from state dollars is slowly increasing from 34 percent in 1998 to about 40 percent by 2006.

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