Hello Worthington! Here's your recap of what happened at August 10's Board of Education meeting. Below are brief summaries of the most significant discussions. For those interested in the full details, we've included links to longer articles where appropriate.
Applications open for the task force that will plan the elementary schools
Worthington Schools launched Phase 3 of its facilities plan and opened applications for a roughly 50-member community task force that will spend the next two years deciding what to do with the district's eleven elementary schools and Sutter Park Preschool. About a dozen seats are reserved for residents chosen through an open application and a blind selection process, with a recommendation due to the board in spring 2028 and a likely ballot question after that. Board members spent most of the meeting challenging how the district plans to describe the work. They questioned the name "phase three," the word "sounding board," and whether one district-wide conversation can fairly hold twelve buildings in very different condition.
Ten years since the Courtney Fisher crash
Superintendent Trent Bowers set aside his regular report to mark ten years since the crash that killed a Worthington Kilbourne graduate. On the morning of August 12, 2016, a passenger van carrying Worthington Kilbourne water polo players and family members to a tournament in Napoleon collided with a grain truck. Several students were injured. Courtney Fisher, 19, a 2015 Kilbourne graduate, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Bowers told the board that Courtney had served as the district's student board member during the 2014-15 school year, in a chair a few feet from where he sits now. The loss registered across the community, he said, and on a personal level for the board and administration. Worthington teams travel back to Napoleon on August 23, where the tournament is now the Courtney Fisher Sprint Off Classic. This year's shirts carry an image of Courtney playing, marking ten years. Bowers said he wanted to publicly thank the water polo community in Napoleon, which he described as continually supportive, and to tell the Fisher family that "we've not forgotten Courtney."
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In Other News
Money and Policy
- Treasurer Thomas (TJ) Cusick warned the board that the district's medical insurance fund, which had been running slightly ahead of schedule, now looks worse. A higher than expected number of high-cost claimants surfaced over the past month or two, and the district could face a second straight double-digit rate increase. That would be above what its negotiated agreements allow, which could trigger a union vote and changes to plan design. Cusick moved the Insurance Committee meeting up to next week and said the board may delay approving rates to get another month of data. He framed it as an industry-wide problem, citing a PwC survey whose trend line has moved above 10 percent from a previous 8 percent: "Employer-provided health care is under a lot of pressure. We're not immune from that." He will bring a plan back to the board after the committee meets.
- The board approved its consent agenda, which included restating the district's 403(b) retirement plan. Cusick described the change as procedural, aligning the plan with the SECURE Act and CARES Act for IRS compliance without altering how it works.
- Epling-Skinner said she has asked state Rep. Anita Somani, whose district covers Worthington, to brief the board once the November election passes on what to expect from the legislature during lame duck. Several bills affecting districts are pending, and the General Assembly has until December 31 to move them.
Around the District
- Board members thanked Director of School Community Engagement Toya Spencer and the volunteers behind the Back-to-School Style Drop, the Family Resource Fair, and First Time Riders, held August 7 and 8 at the Operations Center. New this year were on-site haircuts. The Worthington Alliance of Black Families & Educators also handed out free school supplies at the resource fair through a grant that Columbus City Councilmember Christopher L. Wyche helped secure, part of a broader collaboration with the City of Columbus and Columbus Public Health. Board members said they want the event to grow again next year.
- Vice President Stephanie Harless reported back from a Worthington Municipal Planning Commission hearing on Crawford Hoying's West Wilson Bridge Road redevelopment, which sits inside the school district. As currently proposed, the plan runs to about 590 housing units, more than 200,000 square feet of office space, and roughly 290 hotel rooms, some of the housing designated for seniors. The developers told the commission this is not a second Bridge Park, said they are keeping the Olentangy Parklands sledding hill, and emphasized connections to nearby bike and green space. If the process goes smoothly, ground could break in 2027, with buildings and housing appearing in 2028. The work would be phased.
- Board member Kelli Davis and Worthington City Council member Amy Lloyd joined Columbus City Councilmember Christopher L. Wyche for a town hall at the Northwest Library, covering topics where the cities overlap, such as: sidewalks, students getting to school safely, and shared resources. Davis said most audience questions were about development near the library, and that she learned about a City of Columbus community liaison who connects residents to other resources. Board members noted that a majority of the district's families are Columbus residents.
From the Superintendent's Blog
- Still Texting About Them — with fall sports, marching band, and theatre back at work, Bowers writes about two college coaches whose influence he and a former teammate are still talking about 32 years later, and what that suggests about the adults working with Worthington students now.
Upcoming Dates
- Wednesday, Aug. 19 — First day of school for grades 1 through 9. Grades 10 through 12 start Thursday, Aug. 20, and kindergarten reports Friday, Aug. 21 following assessments by appointment on Aug. 19 and 20. The district's back-to-school page has bus routes, fees, and forms.
- Sunday, Aug. 23 — Courtney Fisher Sprint Off Classic in Napoleon, Ohio. Worthington water polo teams compete, and tournament shirts marking ten years are available there.
- Monday, Aug. 24, 6:30 p.m. — Board of Education meeting at the Worthington Education Center, 200 E. Wilson Bridge Rd. The five-year financial forecast is on the agenda.
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Thanks for reading this summary of the Board of Education meeting, you can watch the original full video here