Westerville board pauses May levy, shifts focus to state funding amid multi‑million dollar gap

The Westerville City Schools Board of Education voted unanimously Jan. 27 to remove a resolution that would have placed an operating levy on the May ballot and to instead concentrate district effort on securing state funding, Superintendent Angie Hamburg told the board.

Hamburg said the district is "deficit spending" because state revenue has fallen relative to local need and that administrators have already eliminated programs and positions to reduce costs. "We absolutely need additional revenue," she said, but added the district wanted time to advocate for changes in the state biennium budget and for improvements to special-education funding.

District officials said the decision follows a November levy defeat and months of internal cuts. Administrators reported roughly $4.8 million in reductions already implemented this year by deferring projects, postponing curriculum adoptions and limiting purchases; the district is also planning further reductions for the next school year,…