Akron school board members got a gloomy preview of the five year forecast they'll vote on at their next meeting.

The forecast now shows that even with the passage of the 7.9 mill levy on the November ballot, the Akron Public Schools have to cut $12 millon from the budget next fiscal year, and another $3 million after that.

School board president Jason Haas says that without the November levy passing, the future budget cuts get even larger.

"The levy passage does keep us out of the really eyepopping numbers," Haas tells AkronNewsNow.com, "which would be $28 million next fiscal year, and $7 million dollars beyond that, $4 million the year after that. You're talking there about $39 million over three fiscal years."

Haas says that those kind of numbers could bring the prospect of future state involvement in the Akron Public Schools.

"Now you get to the point that it'd be really difficult to keep the state out of here," Haas tells AkronNewsNow.com, "and that'd be out of fiscal emergency."

The five year forecast is required by the state of Ohio.

About the levy - Issue 61 - Haas says he's received positive feedback from the community, saying they know what kind of situation the district is in regarding less funding from property taxes, and state cuts to school money.

Haas tells AkronNewsNow that the dealing with the district's budget has a lot of pressures, especially with a lack of help from the state.

"Being as efficient as we are at the administrative level, our child nutrition program and everything," Haas says, "it's still having pressures from Columbus come down in such a way that we're always behind the 8-ball when it comes to financing."

Board members and district officials will continue to step up their campaigning for the issue between now and Election Day.