Superintendent flags social-worker shortage, cites 5,937:1 ratio and eight students with suicidal ideation in a week

At the Sept. 8 Pickerington Local School District board meeting Dr. Smialek delivered the district’s financial update and warned that the district’s social-worker staffing is far below peer districts and insufficient to meet mental-health needs.

Dr. Smialek said the district used State of Ohio comparables to benchmark social-worker ratios and read several examples from the Columbus metropolitan area. He told the board the district’s figure is 5,937 students for every social worker and contrasted that with lower ratios in other districts the district uses as comparables. “So here comes Pickerington. 5,937 students for every social worker,” he said.

He also described recent acute incidents: "We had 8 last week, 8 students who displayed some type of suicidal ideation in 1 week," Dr. Smialek said, and framed those events as part of the rationale for continuing to press for increased revenue. He reminded the board that a levy had not been placed on the most recent ballot and said the district needs to communicate staffing and program needs to the community ahead of a possible May levy.

Dr. Smialek explained why social workers are distinct from counselors and psychologists — pointing out that school psychologists are often booked for evaluations and counselors have expanding responsibilities such as success planning and diploma seals — and argued social workers are the primary on-call contacts for mental-health crises at schools.

He emphasized that neither federal law (IDEA) nor district collective bargaining sets a required student-to-social-worker ratio and that the numbers he presented are district-computed comparables rather than statutory requirements. Dr. Smialek urged continued community engagement and revenue-building to avoid becoming “a district of minimums.”

The board heard the update as an informational item; no formal action on staffing or a levy was taken at the meeting.