Officials say cuts could come quickly if school district residents vote down Issue 49, the 3.9-mill incremental operating levy request on the Nov. 3 ballot.

Responding to residents who told the district in May, after a 7.4-mill levy request failed, that "the community didn't know what was at stake," Worthington City School District leaders sent a letter to parents last week to "inform you about the impact of the issue on the schools and your child's education and ... (to) answer some questions.

"If Issue 49 does not pass, we will face ongoing deficits and will begin to make more than $14 million in cuts to balance the budget," board President David Bressman and Superintendent Melissa Conrath said in the letter. "Without funds from Issue 49, the district will immediately double the pay-to-participate fees for student athletes for the remainder of this school year and high school busing will be eliminated beginning in January.

"In addition, without new revenue, all extracurricular activities, including athletics, will have to be self-supported through fees or donations as of the 2010-11 school year," they said.

The letter goes on to say the district also will have to make course and staffing cuts that could include 120 staff positions, "which will include classroom teachers, guidance counselors, related arts teachers and library media specialists," Conrath and Bressman said in the letter.

John Herrington and Michael Alfred, who comprise Education Worthington and manage a Web site to express their opinions on school district issues at educateworthington.org, will sponsor a public forum to discuss Issue 49 and the school district's "sustainability issues" at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22, at the Northwest Library, 2280 Hard Road.

Herrington said they've invited board member Marc Schare to give a presentation on the district's five-year financial forecast, similar to one he gave to the Worthington Republican Club last week.

Schare may have a conflict, though, Herrington said.

"Our alternative plan is to give a very short presentation on the five-year forecast with a discussion of some potential levy scenarios starting in 2012, and assuming this levy passes," Herrington said, "which, of course, is all wrapped within a framework of sustainability. We want to leave as much time as possible for people to ask questions and offer comments."

District Treasurer Jeff McCuen explained some of the items on the budget cut list, which can be found on the district Web site, worthington.k12.oh.us.

Last on the list is to "initiate process for reconfiguring elementary buildings, effective November 2009," which has worried some residents who value neighborhood schools.

McCuen said reconfiguring the elementary program into K-3 and 4-6 buildings would save district funds, but the November date is when the reconfiguration would begin to be seriously considered.

"We would be looking at the research and determining what the buildings would look like and what kind of savings we would realize," he said. "The difficulty in that approach is that we have traditionally had neighborhood schools, so the change would also have to demonstrate that we could see student academic improvement."

McCuen said the district also would involve the community in the study and planning for reconfiguration, and "if it was considered feasible, we would not go forward with it until after the 2011-12 school year."

The levy, if approved by voters, would begin at 3.9 mills in January and increase by 1.5 mills in both 2011 and 2012, ending at a continuing amount of 6.9 mills.

McCuen said if the tax issue is approved, the first year would cost homeowners an additional $119 in annual taxes per $100,000 in property value. That amount would increase by $46 in each of the second and third years.

The levy request would generate about $7.1 million for Worthington schools in the first year, McCuen said.

Another major budget cut if the levy fails could be the amount the district pays for athletics, which means doubling the pay-to-participate fees at the middle school and high school levels. Parents would pay $250 per sport per child, with no family cap, effective with spring and winter sports this school year, McCuen said.

"Our goal would be to have all extracurricular activities funded by participants, rather than taxpayers, if the levy fails to pass," McCuen said. "That could mean either a reduction in program offerings, combining middle school sports on the east side or charging pay-to-participate fees equal to the general budget costs for that sport."

Herrington said he's been hearing residents ask questions about what cuts are going to be made if the levy passes and how large the next levy will be after the current contract expires.

"People are also asking for more detailed information about where the money is going," he said. "I would say the district needs to be more straightforward about what 2012, 2013 and 2014 will look like in terms of their finances and their need to raise taxes or make more cuts."

Nevertheless, Herrington is seeing some overall support for the levy request.

"Being very general, I would say I see a reluctant support for the levy, primarily because people do not want to see massive cuts to the kids' programs," he said.

"But I also sense a growing intolerance for being put into a position where they have no choice," he said. "I also sense a growing distrust for the school board, the administration and the union who are responsible for creating that position where we have little or no choice."