Worthington board work session refines goals; prioritizes fiscal stewardship, student growth, safety committee and fee review

Board members and district leaders used the work-session portion of the meeting to draft and refine board-level goals, prioritize fiscal stewardship, and establish how the board will receive regular safety briefings.

The board settled on a concise fiscal-responsibility statement intended for public-facing materials: the board will be good stewards of the public’s funds and make responsible financial decisions that keep quality public education accessible, align with community priorities, and support long-term stability. Board members discussed that this fiscal priority underlies many other decisions — from staffing levels to fee schedules and levy strategy — and identified two concrete targets discussed by staff and trustees: aiming to limit typical levy requests to an average of about 2.25 mills and to remain off the ballot through 2028 where feasible.

Board members also discussed operational priorities that will shape superintendent goals and administrative planning. Highlights from the session:

- Timeline and next steps: Superintendent Trenton Bowers requested drafts be under development so the board can finalize direction before the administration prepares its next set of goals; the board set a May 1 internal target to have a directional draft and agreed to schedule a follow-up special meeting to continue work on goals (the board directed staff to list February 24 as a special session to advance the draft). The board also identified a June date on the calendar to review and adopt next-year objectives.

- Responsible staffing and enrollment alignment: Trustees and district staff discussed tying staffing decisions to enrollment projections and the five-year forecast. Bowers and other administrators said enrollment is projected to be approximately flat for the next five years, a factor that will inform staffing and budgeting choices.

- Fees and equity: The board noted recent progress on eliminating kindergarten fees and discussed evaluating extracurricular participation fees (sometimes called “pay to play”) and other school fees with the goal of reducing barriers to access while balancing fiscal responsibility. The group directed staff to present an evaluation of the fee schedule for future consideration.

- Student growth, achievement and equity: Trustees refined language to cover whole-student outcomes (including academic growth, social–emotional supports and equitable access). The board agreed language should emphasize supporting data‑driven, evidence‑based instruction and the recruitment and retention of high‑quality staff to deliver that instruction.

- Safety oversight: Superintendent Bowers described a superintendent-led safety committee that will brief the board on a regular cadence. Trustees supported the committee structure and asked for periodic updates to the full board so members have line-of-sight to operational safety work.

- Advocacy and policy: Trustees discussed combining advocacy and compliance as complementary priorities: remaining informed about pending legislation, building relationships with local and county officials, and shaping policy and communications to represent and protect the district’s interests.

The board and administrators listed upcoming calendar items tied to the district’s near-term work: a Feb. 24 special session to continue goals work; a Feb. 24 presentation on the science‑of‑reading curriculum and a review of the responsible staffing plan; a March 2 regular meeting with a facilities/phase‑2 construction update; and an April 14 presentation on the district’s ‘‘portrait in practice.’’

Board members emphasized these will be living priorities rather than fixed policy changes: the board will take additional votes when a formal policy or levy action is required.

Discussion vs. decisions

Several broad policy choices were discussed and given directional agreement (for example, the fiscal-responsibility wording, the 2.25‑mill average guideline and the May 1 draft deadline). The board did not adopt new binding policy at this meeting; instead trustees directed staff to refine text and to return recommendations for formal action at a later meeting.

Administratively, the board instructed staff to schedule the follow-up meeting to finalize board-level goal language and to prepare enumerated materials (fee schedule analysis, staffing plan tied to the five‑year forecast, evidence-based instructional plans) for future board review.