While the state subsidy holdup has other school districts seeking loans or lines of credit to get through the start of the school year, Jamestown Area School District is trying to figure out what to do with an extra $200,000 left over from last year's budget.

"We're normally pretty close, within $50,000," Superintendent David Shaffer said of yearly budget estimates. "It will be interesting to see if this is a trend, if this is revenue we can count on in the future."

According to preliminary audit reports from independent auditors McGill, Power and Bell of Grove City, the school district has about $207,000 left over from the 2002-2003 budget.

The surplus, said school treasurer Cheryl Goodemote, comes from higher than expected tax collections and a spending freeze instituted in January.

According to the preliminary reports, she said, real estate taxes collected by the district were nearly $80,000 higher than expected, mostly due to increased assessments on property in the district. The district also collected $34,000 more in delinquent taxes than expected, she said.