Worthington Public School Board approves roughly $1.57 million in budget reductions after divided vote

Worthington Public School District board members voted 4–3 at their March regular meeting to approve administrative budget reductions totaling approximately $1.57 million, a package district leaders said is intended to improve long-range fiscal health.

Board Chair and administration said the cuts follow a districtwide exercise asking building leaders to identify roughly 2% reductions; some items in the packet had already been implemented, the administration said. Supporters argued acting now reduces the risk of deeper cuts later; opponents said the reductions would remove student-facing staff that address low early-grade reading scores.

Board members and administrators described the process: principals were asked to identify potential reductions equitably by building; some proposed reductions were already enacted (restructuring the district office and not rehiring certain paraprofessional positions). Administration also presented updated revenue projections that increased anticipated revenue compared with earlier estimates, and modeled the timing of a balanced budget with and without the reductions.

Opponents pressed for a narrower approach that would spare paraprofessionals and lower-grade interventionists serving students who are far below reading targets. One board member noted district third-grade reading proficiency at 24.27% versus a statewide average of 46.6% and said removing two paraprofessionals and two interventionists from lower grade levels would directly affect the district's most at-risk students. Supporters said principals vetted the proposed cuts carefully and that positioning the district to avoid a larger future operating referendum was fiscally responsible.

Board action and vote: a motion to approve the budget reductions as presented was made by Matt (motion text: "move to approve the budget reductions as presented") and seconded by Laurie. The motion passed on a voice/hand vote, 4 in favor, 3 opposed. The meeting transcript records a roll-call-style voice vote but no member-level yes/no listing for this motion.

Clarifying details provided during the discussion included an administrative estimate that making the proposed reductions would move the point at which the district reaches a balanced budget from the 2026–27 projection out to 2028–29; some itemized reductions the packet identified totaled about $1,567,920 in site-level reductions. Administrators and board members repeatedly noted uncertainty in state funding and upcoming bargaining as reasons to act conservatively.

What happens next: district staff said they will implement the approved reductions and continue to monitor revenue, legislative actions affecting compensatory revenue, and labor negotiations. Board members noted the district could later rehire positions if revenues or labor outcomes allow.