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Worthington Education Foundation awards eight staff grants totaling $24,851
Summary
The Worthington Education Foundation awarded eight staff grants across the district—totaling $24,851 and announced during the Dec. 9 Board of Education meeting—to fund classroom equipment, therapy dog training, outdoor bike mechanics and language resources; the board approved appropriations to accept the funds.
The Worthington Education Foundation announced eight staff grants at the Worthington Board of Education meeting on Dec. 9, awarding a total of $24,851 to programs across the district.
Sarah Mullen, representing the Worthington Education Foundation, told the board the foundation received 21 applications from 11 Worthington schools and "we are thrilled to award 8 grants tonight totaling almost $25,000." The board then approved appropriations to accept and appropriate those funds.
The largest award — $10,000 — went to a strength‑training program proposed by Nick Wiedenhof and Mark Gallagher at Worthing Way Middle School to furnish a strength room with squat and bench racks, dumbbells and mats for wellness classes and supervised athletic time. Other awards included $5,000 to Catherine Wells for a “possibility patch” at Sutter Park Preschool (hands‑on planting and STEM activities), $2,781 to Kelly Swearingen at Thomas Worthington High School to begin therapy dog training, $2,500 to Colleen Kockensparger at Slate Hill Elementary for a board‑game collection, $1,750 to Rob Smith at Worthington Hills Elementary for an outdoor bike mechanic area, $1,000 to Morgan Malillo at Perry Middle School for diverse model texts and book‑making projects, $1,070 to Rick Armstrong at Granby Elementary for balance bikes in early grades, and $750 to Sean Strader at Thomas Worthington High School to start a French reading library.
Mullen described the grants as district‑wide and varied "to support future‑forward learning" and said winners will be featured at the foundation’s fundraising gala on Jan. 30. Treasurer TJ Cusick told the board the appropriations modification included $24,851 to recognize the grants in the district budget.
The board approved the appropriations modification and related routine business items by recorded roll calls of present members. The meeting packet listed the grant awards and the treasurer confirmed the district would record the funds as received from the foundation.
The board’s action to appropriate these funds is administrative: the grants are privately raised by the Worthington Education Foundation and will be used by named schools and educators to purchase equipment and materials described in the foundation’s award notices. The district budget line and the transfer into the debt service fund are managed through routine appropriations and will appear in the posted monthly financial report.
The next step: the foundation will follow up with recipient teachers and schools about implementation and the district will post the appropriation and donations on its website as part of routine financial reporting.
