NILES, Ohio - Citing repeated levy failures, the Niles City School District's superintendent announced Tuesday the district has been placed into fiscal emergency by the state auditor's office. 

"While we are discouraged that the Niles City School District has been placed into fiscal emergency, the declaration unfortunately does not come as a surprise," said superintendent Ann Marie Thigpen in a news release. 

The statement mentions new operating levies that failed in 2017 and 2018, as well as last November's failure of a levy that would have combined two levies into one, which the district said would only have maintained current funding levels. 

Niles schools have already taken cost-cutting measures in recent years, including eliminating three administrative and seven teaching positions and increasing employee contributions for health insurance. 

According to the Ohio Department of Education, when a district is placed in fiscal emergency a financial planning and supervision committee is formed to review the district's finances and determine areas for improvement. Of the 42 districts to be placed in fiscal emergency since the law creating the distinction was passed in 1996, 39 have been released upon improving their financial outlook.