It's Worth It: Here's what to expect as Worthington Schools' 2022-23 approaches

We are only days away from the start of the 2022-23 school year. Academically, we are very much back on track coming off the difficulties of the pandemic.

In many grades and subject areas, we have made more progress than students throughout the state. We recognize this was a collective effort among students, teachers and the support from home.

As always, we are committed to our mission of empowering a community of learners to change the world. As we begin the new school year, I’d like to share with you what our community can expect:

School start times

Due to a state law change, we have made adjustments to all schools' start and end times for this school year. We’re excited about how this change will positively affect students in grades 6-12 and eventually all students in the school district. But we also recognize that this is a big change. Thank you to our families for being patient in August as inevitably, some issues will need to be ironed out.

Finances

Worthington is a school district funded primarily with local tax dollars, accounting for 80% of total operating revenues. The new Fair School Funding Plan the legislature adopted is not providing meaningful increases to our state revenue. Expenses have grown modestly and will continue to increase. Worthington is a growing school district with houses continuing to turn over with young families. Recent spikes in inflation and gas prices are being felt.

Our community-developed master facilities plan is progressing. Phase 1 of the plan was realized through the construction and renovation of our middle school buildings, funded by a bond issue approved by voters in 2018.

It's Worth It: Bond issue, levies would help district further its mission

As previously reported, phase 2 involves a $234 million bond issue to renovate and replace most sections of Thomas Worthington High School and renovate Worthington Kilbourne High School. The changes to Thomas Worthington will include creating a larger cafeteria while also adding and modernizing science labs and other flexible learning spaces more suitable for learning over the next 30 years. At Worthington Kilbourne, the upgrades will be centered around allowing more natural light into student areas, installing a new roof and updating the heating and cooling systems, as well as performance spaces.

We also need to continue to maintain our bus fleet, keep our technology current, renovate our playgrounds and replace instructional and extracurricular equipment and facilities.

Thus, Worthington Schools will be on the ballot in November for two separate issues. One would fund operating needs, allowing us to continue to maintain our current programming and offerings and accommodate our enrollment growth, and the other would fund capital needs, including phase 2 of the master facilities plan. If both issues are approved on Nov. 8, taxes will increase by about $203 per $100,000 of appraised home value in year one and increase by $70 per year per $100,000 of appraised home value in each of the following three years.

School safety

Worthington Schools follows a comprehensive safety plan that encompasses multiple areas: secure facilities; comprehensive plans and training for staff; and mental-health assessments and support. Most importantly, our staff members are committed to providing school cultures in which all students know they have a trusted adult in their school who cares about them and believes in them.

2022-23 is going to be a great year in Worthington. We encourage you to visit our website and follow us on social media for the latest information about the upcoming school year.

Trent Bowers is superintendent of Worthington Schools. He can be reached at tbowers@wscloud.org.

This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: It's Worth It: What to expect as Worthington Schools' 2022-23 approaches