SHADYSIDE - Shadyside Local School District Superintendent Terry Brinker blames teachers there for costing the district more than $500,000 in levy funds.

The result, he said, will be cuts in programs and staffing and reductions across the board.

Both Shadyside and Bridgeport school officials Wednesday pondered what their districts' futures will be like without the dollars generated by renewal levies that were struck down in Tuesday"s election.

Bridgeport-area voters likely will see the levy on a ballot again next year - though probably in a different form, said Superintendent Ted Downing.

But in Shadyside, where teachers also have served a strike notice as labor negotiations have broken down, Brinker's message was bleak.

"We won't be running the emergency levy again," he said. "We now do not have those funds - $519, 472 to be exact - generated by the levy each year. That money will no longer be in our budget."

The 5.4-mill renewal levy to cover the costs of "emergency requirements" in the school district went down Tuesday by a vote total of 896 in favor to 1,124 against. The public was not happy about the state of negotiations with the teachers' union, Brinker contended.

He said the Shadyside Education Association went to the public, telling voters that the money received from the levy gave the district plenty to use for teachers' salaries. But according to Brinker, the money previously generated by the emergency levy was used to support many of the programs and services within the Shadyside Local School District.

The existence of these funds meant that less money needed to be spent from the school district's general fund, leaving more for teachers' salaries, he said.

"And the community stepped up on their behalf," Brinker commented. "We had 1,124 people saying 'no,' which is rather unique. This district always has supported its schools."

He acknowledged the Shadyside Local School District budget should remain in the black for the next two school years even without the levy money, but he said a deficit would result in the third year. Schools are required by state law to show they will be financially stable for at least a three-year period; otherwise they have to provide a plan showing how they will address financial shortfalls.

Brinker anticipates cuts to programs and services, as well as personnel, in Shadyside's schools.

Messages seeking comment from Linda Tomer, president of the Shadyside Education Association, were not immediately returned Wednesday evening.

In Bridgeport, Downing admitted to being surprised by the public's rejection of the replacement of a 4-mill levy for current expenses in the district. But he intends to put a levy before voters again next year with a different strategy.

The levy was voted down 773 to 859.

"At this point in time, I am very disappointed the levy was rejected although we have a lot of positive things going on," he said. "But the people made their decisions.

"Now I have to get with the board and see what adjustments we will have to make. Right now, we have no plan of action in place," he added. "It will take a period of time."

The five-year forecast for the Bridgeport school district shows it having a deficit of $160,000 in the fifth year. The levy that was rejected in Tuesday's election would have generated an additional $100,000 annually for the Bridgeport Exempted Village School District.

"If this levy had passed, we would have been in the black for five years," Downing said.

Downing said school officials will have a better idea early next year - perhaps by February - regarding what the financial situation will be. He also anticipates there could be cuts to education at the state level, which could further impact the school district.

Downing noted there currently is much enthusiasm within the school district, as it has opened new school facilities, the football team is doing well and the schools have received academic accolades in recent months.

The levy would have cost the average household in Bridgeport about $48 a year, he said.

"I thought we had so much positive going on," he said. "I can't put a finger on as to why people rejected the levy. I guess people just don't like to pay more taxes."

Amy Porter, treasurer for the Bridgeport Exempted Village School District, speculated voters may have seen the levy as a "bonus" for the school district.

"In no way shape or form is it a bonus," she said. "We take asking for funds seriously. We would not have put this levy on the ballot if there were not a serious need."