This story is part of Worthington Pulse's coverage of the August 24 Board of Education meeting. Start with the August 24 meeting recap.
Worthington Schools remains on solid financial footing today, but its own five-year forecast shows the district spending more than it takes in starting next fiscal year, with revenue flat and expenses climbing 4% to 5% annually. Treasurer TJ Cusick presented the revised forecast to the Board of Education on August 24, walking through it line by line in what he called the first rollout of the new cycle.
Why the forecast came in August
Districts normally file this forecast in November. This year the state moved the deadline to August, and Cusick tied that directly to a change in the law giving county budget commissions the authority to roll back tax rates. The three-member commission "has the authority to reduce taxing jurisdiction, including schools, levy, even voter approved levies," he said. He does not expect that to happen in Worthington, "but it is going on in many parts of Ohio."
The August timing also makes the numbers softer. The district has not yet run its first payroll of the school year and has not received its property-tax settlement for the second half of 2026, so Cusick is still relying on February's figures for two of the district's largest revenue and expense lines. "It really doesn't make sense to do an August forecast," he told the board, adding that the state may push the date to September. County budget commissions weighing rate rollbacks want the information early enough to act before tax bills go out in January.
Where the money comes from
Worthington is a locally funded district: about 81% of its revenue is local, and roughly 78% comes from property taxes. On the spending side, about three-quarters of expenses are staff salaries and benefits.
Local property-tax revenue is plateauing — 2026 is the final year of the district's current incremental levy, so revenue goes flat in calendar year 2027. Franklin County's triennial reappraisal arrives next year, but Cusick reminded the board that rising property values do not translate into much new money for the district. As values go up, the effective tax rate is rolled back. "Some properties will have a tax increase," he said, "but if they do, another property will have a corresponding decrease."
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State funding at a historic low
Much of the presentation focused on the state's shrinking share. Historically the state covers roughly half of an average district's funding, and its share has typically sat in the 40% range. Because the state did not increase the funding inputs in the latest budget, that share has fallen into the 30s statewide. Worthington now sits at the 10% minimum-funding floor and receives less than $900 per student.
Cusick pushed back on the message that the state has poured record money into schools. In absolute terms, total state funding rose from about $11.4 billion to $11.7 billion and is going to roughly $12 billion this year, a 2.9% increase. But traditional public districts saw only about a 1.5% increase, he said, while the largest gains went to scholarship programs, up 9.2%. With inflation running at 3% to 4%, the district has to make up the difference with local dollars.
One bright spot is temporary: the district is receiving a one-time enrollment-growth supplement of about $2.6 million tied to its move to all-day kindergarten, which turned roughly 400 half-day kindergartners into 800 full-day students for funding purposes. Cusick was clear the money is a one-time bump, not built into the formula going forward.
The 10-year picture and the levy question
Assuming no new levies, the forecast shows this year as the district's last with positive collections. Deficit spending begins next year at about $8.3 million and grows to roughly $9 million a year after that. The district's expenses rise about two and a quarter mills annually while revenue stays flat.
The district's cash reserve does not dip below its target until fiscal year 2031, meaning Worthington could in theory stay off the ballot until late 2030. Cusick argued against waiting that long. By that point the district would be spending nearly $37 million more than it collects in one year, and $45 million the next, requiring a levy in the $12 million to $14 million range. The district's strategy of asking voters for smaller amounts on an incremental cycle, he said, is why it carries a higher cash balance than many peer districts: "We can't wait till we're totally out of money to ask for a small amount."
Board members signaled the levy conversation is coming. Members discussed how other Ohio districts are turning to earned-income taxes as property-tax pressure grows, an option that board members noted would require careful explanation for older residents on fixed incomes. The consensus from the district's Treasurer's Advisory Committee, members reported, was that staying on the incremental property-levy path remains the right strategy for Worthington.
Risks on the horizon
Cusick closed with the uncertainties baked into the forecast: health-insurance costs running above 10% nationally, against the 8% he budgeted; pending state proposals to change or abolish property taxes; candidates for governor proposing to eliminate the state income tax, which would strain the school-funding formula; and the State Teachers Retirement System's push to raise employer contributions, where each additional percentage point costs the district about $1 million a year. He also flagged artificial intelligence as a genuine unknown on the operational side.
"My main message is we are aware of the problem we're facing," Cusick told the board. The forecast will be updated as real payroll, enrollment, and property-tax numbers come in over the fall.
This story comes from the August 24 meeting recap.