Four St. Lawrence County schools have been classified as “susceptible to stress” in a report from the state comptroller’s office on the financial outlook for school districts.

Brasher Falls, Parishville-Hopkinton, Colton-Pierrepont and Hammond schools have been classified as “susceptible to stress.”

No St. Lawrence County schools were in the two highest risk categories of “significant stress” or “moderate stress.”

Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli's Fiscal Stress Monitoring System and resulting fiscal stress designations rely on data submitted by school districts to the State Education Department.

Using indicators through last June 30, that include year-end fund balance, cash position and patterns of operating deficits, the monitoring system creates a score that classifies districts in “significant fiscal stress,” in “moderate fiscal stress,” as “susceptible to fiscal stress,” or “no designation.”

The scores for the St. Lawrence County schools were: Brasher Falls, 41.7; Parishville-Hopkinton, 38.3; Colton-Pierrepont, 31.7; and Hammond, 30.0. The “moderate stress” designation begins with schools having a score of 45 percent; significant stress starts at 65 percent.

Last year, the first time the comptroller issued such a report, Ogdensburg and Potsdam schools were designated as “susceptible.”

School districts found to be in fiscal stress share a number of common characteristics, the report said. Most are operating with low fund balance, operating deficits and limited cash on hand. These districts were also found to have a much higher likelihood of using short-term borrowing to bridge cash flow gaps.

Fiscally stressed school districts also share a number of what the report calls environmental themes. For example, fiscally stressed school districts were more likely to experience declining property values, high poverty rates and low school budget support. Although many factors are outside a district’s control, they can drive additional costs or hurt the district’s ability to raise revenues.