What Would Westerville Restore If Levy Passes?

One of Central Ohio's largest school districts is faced with a $23 million budget deficit and administrators are hoping voters will pass a new levy in March.

The Westerville City Schools Board of Education is trying to come up with a prioritized list of programs and services that should be restored if the March levy is approved.

The district has already announced that 57 jobs have been eliminated, including some bus drivers and custodians, after the district's levy in November 2011 failed.

The district said another 163 jobs will be cut during the 2012-2013 school year, bringing the total job cuts to 220 positions.

The district is also looking at cutting extra-curricular activities and slashing transportation.

The district is trying to come up with a prioritized list of programs

"The board recommended we also look at the impact of each of these programs or services on 21^st Century skills, critical thinking, communication, collaboration, creativity and also life and career skills and preparation for college and the work force," said Dan Good, Westerville City Schools superintendent.

Each program or service will be prioritized based on the following criteria:

Proficiency of the program

Is there adequate yearly progress with the program?

Does it affect the graduation rate?

How many students use the program?

How is the program or service performing compared to other programs?

Then each program will be rated as high-, moderate- or low-impact on students.

Good said the reading intervention program would be one of those high-impact programs on the list.

"A child's illiteracy proficiency impacts every indicator on the local report card as well as all of those 21^st Century skills," Good said.

Parent Heather Shock said she knows which program she would bring back.

"My son is very adamant about staying in sports, so I think the athletic program is very important in the Westerville School District," she said.

Good stresses that if the levy doesn't pass in March, the priority list won't matter because the funding won't be available to restore programs or services.

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