Worthington's middle schools likely will be consolidated into three buildings instead of the current four as early as next school year.

School board President Julie Keegan announced an informational meeting for parents about the middle school restructuring at the board meeting held Monday, Feb. 8.

The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. Feb . 18 at Kilbourne Middle School, 50 E. Dublin-Granville Road.

Superintendent Melissa Conrath said the complete middle school restructuring will happen over a one- or two-year period, but the consolidation of the middle school program into three buildings -- Kilbourne, McCord and Worthingway middle schools -- likely will happen this fall, in time for next school year.

The Phoenix Middle School program will remain at Perry Middle School and likely will be expanded, Conrath said.

"The sooner we implement the consolidation, the sooner the savings, so we will look at making the adjustment for this fall," she said.

Conrath sent out a letter to parents last week about the meeting and the restructuring.

"The need (for middle school restructure) exists for a couple of reasons," she wrote in the letter. "Currently the cost per pupil at the middle school level is more expensive than at both the elementary and high school levels.

"Additionally, in comparison with similar districts, our cost per pupil is higher," she said. "We also believe that we can improve upon student achievement and academic growth for our students in middle school."

Conrath said the middle school principals have been discussing "the need to create new settings for students" since early fall.

At the Feb. 18 meeting, parents will learn about the middle school restructuring and several options principals are considering and will be provided an opportunity to offer feedback, she said.

"We want to talk to parents about our need to use our tax dollars as efficiently as we possibly can," Conrath said. "Because we had a tax issue fail last May and came back with a reduced millage incremental levy in November, we still have to make some reductions, so we are working to maximize our dollars without impacting the quality of our program."

Information on the middle school restructuring soon will appear on the district Web site, worthington.k12.oh.us, along with a parent survey form, she said.

Also during the Feb. 8 school board meeting, two Thomas Worthington High School seniors, Matthew Tischer and Matthew Walker, were recognized for "outstanding achievement" in placing among the top 150 students in the United States National Chemistry Olympiad in 2009.