A report released this morning by the state comptroller's office shows that the four school districts in East Niagara are in good shape, fiscally speaking.

The report evaluated a number of factors as of Dec. 13, giving all 674 school districts in the state a fiscal stress rating. Schools with higher stress ratings are in more trouble financially, the report explains.

The report is similar to the one released by the comptroller's office in December which showed the city of Lockport to have "moderate fiscal stress." The comptroller's office explains the fiscal stress monitoring system in a YouTube video.

While the Lockport, Newfane, Barker and Roy-Hart districts are all listed with "no designation," meaning a stress rating of 45 percent or less, two Niagara County school districts - Lewiston-Porter and Niagara-Wheatfield - were listed with the worst possible stress rating of "significant financial stress" and a third - Niagara Falls - was listed as "susceptible to fiscal stress."

Lewiston-Porter and Niagara-Wheatfield were, in fact, listed as the 2nd and 3rd most fiscally stressed districts in the entire state. Niagara Falls came in 44th out of 674.

Locally, the Lockport City School District was the most stressed, but even at 155th on the list, it only had a 20 percent stress rating, meaning that the comptroller's office isn't worried about the district's finances. Royalton-Hartland had one of the lowest ratings in the state at 631 with a 0 percent stress rating. Rounding out East Niagara schools, Newfane was ranked 217th in the state with a 15 percent stress level and Baker was ranked 341st with a 6.7 percent stress level.

Overall, the study found 12 school districts in the state to have "significant fiscal stress." Twenty-three more had "moderate fiscal stress," and 52 were listed as  "susceptible to fiscal stress."

All Niagara County school districts are listed below with state rank and fiscal stress percentage.

• 2 - Lewiston-Porter Central School District - 81.7% (Significant Fiscal Stress)
• 3 - Niagara-Wheatfield Central School District - 80.0% (Significant Fiscal Stress)
• 44 -  Niagara Falls City School District - 38.3% (Susceptible Fiscal Stress)
• 96 -  North Tonawanda City School District - 23.3% (No Designation)
• 155 - Lockport City School District - 20.0% (No Designation)
• 217 - Newfane Central School District - 15.0% (No Designation)
• 341 - Barker Central School District  - 6.7% (No Designation)
• 483 - Wilson Central School District - 6.7% (No Designation)
• 631 - Royalton-Hartland Central School District - 0.0% (No Designation)
• 646 - Starpoint Central School District - 0.0% (No Designation)

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