Loud whoops and cheers swept like a wave through a room packed with levy supporters as the numbers for Issue 49 edged up and over 58 percent passing, according to runners reporting from Worthington school precincts at 9 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3.

"I think I can comfortably call this a landslide victory," said Superintendent Melissa Conrath with a big smile.

Treasurer Jeff McCuen sat in front of his laptop, typing in vote totals as runners called them in.

By 9 p.m., he was looking up past levy results. He could find only one Worthington levy, in 1987, that voters had passed by 60 percent.

"I think I can safely say community support for this levy is overwhelming," he said. "It looks like this levy will pass with the second-highest margin for operating levies in the history of the school district."

According to unofficial results from the Franklin County Board of Elections, with 55 of 56 precincts reporting Tuesday night, 58.97 percent of voters gave their nod to the levy, with 41.03 percent voting "no."

Issue 49 is a 3.9-mill incremental operating levy for Worthington schools, which begins at 3.9 mills in January, then increases by 1.5 mills in both 2011 and 2012, ending at a continuing amount of 6.9 mills.

The first year of the levy will cost each homeowner in the district an additional $119 in annual taxes per $100,000 in property value. That amount will increase by $46 in each of the second and third years.

The levy is expected to generate about $7.1 million in the first year for Worthington schools, McCuen said.

The room erupted with shouts and cheers, back-slapping and applause as Conrath came to the front of the room for her victory speech Tuesday night.

"This victory didn't happen by accident," Conrath said to supporters. "Hundreds of people showed up for this effort and I believe they did a good job of communicating the message that this is an incredible school district.

"I am humbled and I am indebted to all of you," she said. "Very few if any districts have passed an incremental levy, but by putting an incremental levy on the ballot, I think the community understood we were being responsive to the economy and to the community."

Conrath looked over the crowd as they stood and cheered, giving her a standing ovation.

"I can't thank you enough," she said. "This is a wonderful place to be."

The school district would have faced more than $14 million in budget cuts if Issue 49 had failed, including the elimination of 125 staff positions, affecting many guidance counselors, library media specialists and art, music and physical education teachers, as well as the elimination of all high school busing.

District officials said the failure of the issue also would have meant an immediate doubling of pay-to-participate fees, to $250 per student per sport with no family cap.

Voters shot down the district's levy attempt in May.

Conrath said board members are committed to showing the community they are fiscally responsible.

"We have a continued commitment to this community and we are committed to staying fiscally responsible," she said.

Board Vice President Julie Keegan said the campaign was "more visible" this time.

"Honestly, I think the levy committee did an outstanding job of getting the word out about the importance of this request," she said. "It was a much more visible campaign and a lot of people got involved and rallied for the school district."

"This is one of the best feelings I've ever had," said campaign manager Jennifer Economus. "I'm proud to be a member of this community."

"I think people understood what was at stake and responded to help us keep our excellent school district," she said. "I'm from Youngstown and my husband and I moved to Worthington because of the strong community and quality schools."

Conrath said Economus and campaign volunteers did a good job communicating what was at stake: the quality of Worthington schools.

"We had an incredible number of volunteers who helped the community understand how we have managed dollars in the past and that we are committed to managing their dollars in a responsible way and to maintaining the quality of this school district," she said.