Worthington Kilbourne student starts petition to restore school resource officers
Kilbourne senior Luke Brown started the change.org petition addressed to the school board, Superintendent Trent Bowers and Kilbourne principal Aric Thomas with the hopes that the reinstatement of the SRO program will be considered.
The petition had 186 signatures as of July 6, with a goal of hitting 200. Brown said those signatures consist of mostly Kilbourne and Thomas Worthington High School students.
“The removal of our SROs had no just-basis and was fueled by the negative image surrounding police during these times,” the petition reads.” As a senior in the Worthington School District, I have seen first hand the result of SROs being removed.”
Worthington Schools leaders preparing for next phase of master facilities plan
As phase 1 of Worthington Schools’ master facilities plan nears its conclusion, plans for phase 2 are expected to start coming into focus soon.
Among the major priorities Worthington Schools’ phase 2 task force is leaning toward for the second part of the three-phase master facilities plan are improvements and rehabilitations to Thomas Worthington High School and at least a few of the district’s elementary schools, according to Jeff Eble, the district s business-services director.
The phase 1 task force in 2016 recommended that the second phase prioritize projects for the high schools and at least two of the elementary schools, he said.
Colonial Hills is a suburban neighborhood in Worthington, just north of Columbus. It is a quiet, family-friendly place dotted with modest houses and two parks for kids to play in. While most suburban development boomed in the post-World War II period, Colonial Hills got its start during the war.
Interest is running high among local Democrats hoping to fill a vacant seat on the Franklin County Board of Commissioners.
Columbus City Council President Pro Tempore Elizabeth Brown, state Rep. Erica Crawley, Franklin County Clerk of Courts Maryellen O’Shaughnessy, Worthington School Board member Sam Shim and Gahanna-Jefferson School Board President Beryl Piccolantonio have announced their intentions to seek the appointment, with many others considering the race.
“I know (they) all won’t run, but I think the list was in the double digits last week,” said Michael Sexton, chairman of the Franklin County Democratic Party’s Executive Committee.
Who are the leading Democrats seeking to replace Marilyn Brown as Franklin County commissioner?
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TJ Cusick
Guest columnist
Last May, the Worthington Schools’ five-year forecast was updated at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, which was also a time of significant economic uncertainty.
The governor cut state funding, and future property-tax revenue was uncertain. Total projected revenue for the following five years was reduced by $28 million.
We responded by tightening our belts with $1.8 million in budget reductions this school year, and our teachers and support staff did an amazing job educating our students in a remote and hybrid delivery environment.
This May, state economic reports indicate Ohio has weathered the storm well. Revenue is exceeding projections, and the governor’s proposed state biennial budget for 2022-23 restores education funding to prepandemic levels. One-time federal relief funds were provided to cover additional costs, students are back in our schools full-time and businesses are opening back up.