^SLIDESHOW The Worthington City School District moved through a year of renewal in 2009 as schools came up with new and innovative ways to teach students.

District leaders leaped into 2009 with high hopes, but soon found themselves crunching numbers and mulling over what to cut and what to keep to continue that renewal process.

Here's a look back at some of 2009's top stories in Worthington schools.

Chilly date with history

A blast of arctic air swept into Worthington in an already snowy January, closing school doors and canceling school events. Some students chose to witness history, despite the cold, by traveling to Washington, D.C., for President Barack Obama's inauguration.

Phoenix Middle School seventh-grader Kody Prosser attended the event through the National Youth Leadership Foundation and raised $3,000 for tuition and transportation costs.

Worthington Kilbourne High School junior Brian Skura also attended the inauguration and said it was life-changing.

"I want to tell my kids and my grandkids that, yes, I was there to see the first black president of the United States sworn in," he said.

Skura didn't actually see the president because of record crowds, but he heard the speeches and danced at an inaugural ball that night.

School board members didn't feel much like dancing as they met to muddle through budget numbers, trying to determine the size of a spring operating levy request and hoping to ward off a predicted $18 million deficit.

Schools soldiered on despite the prediction, and Worthington Hills Elementary School unfolded a school renewal plan called PLUS, or Personalized Learning Utilized Strategically, introduced to board members in storybook form. Teachers said the plan gives students more opportunities to make their own learning choices.

Community service highlighted the week of Valentine's Day as Wilson Hill Elementary School students made heartfelt valentines to send to troops serving in Baghdad. Kids wrote messages such as "You are special" and "You are my hero" to cheer up soldiers far from home.

Students in two other schools got their hands muddy and multicolored as they created bowls for Empty Bowl dinners. Liberty Elementary School fifth-graders glazed bowls for the Delaware County Habitat for Humanity Soup for Shelter dinner and Thomas Worthington High School ceramics class students made more than 100 bowls for their annual Empty Bowl dinner to benefit Children's Hunger Alliance.

Board members battled over levy numbers in February, finally compromising on a 7.4-mill tax issue for the May ballot after discussing amounts that ranged from 6.9 mills to 7.9 mills.

Sunny days seemed far away, but board members considered signing with a solar energy company that would supply solar panels to cut some of the school building's energy costs.

The month ended with a school leader flipping flapjacks on Pancake Day. Superintendent Melissa Conrath not only cooked and flipped pancakes but judged a pancake-eating contest as well.

Stars of the court

March madness began with "shining stars" as the Special Olympics Worthington Stars and the middle school Worthington Ambassadors took to the court for the 10th annual Battle of Worthington.

The score stayed close, but the Stars won as usual in a game that kept spectators constantly cheering for both teams.

Levy campaign volunteers hit the streets in March, talking up the school's 7.4-mill levy in neighborhoods and urging residents to vote.

A Granby Elementary School Destination Imagination team turned a classic tale topsy-turvy by performing The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig. The team won second place at a regional competition and qualified for state competition.

School board members felt the wolf at the door as they continued to ponder the district budget and a long list of needed building repairs. They determined the 2006 bond issue money might stretch to cover most of the needs, so roof repairs and replacements, parking lot and playground paving were scheduled.

Science students shone at the Central District Science Fair, and Colonial Hills Elementary School fifth-grader Jacob DeRodes battled with the big boys as he earned a superior score for his project, "The Impact of Blade Shape and Number on Wind Turbine Efficiency." DeRodes' project beat out hundreds of science projects created by older students. He won several of the top awards, including the first-place Franklin County Chapter of the Ohio Society of Professional Engineers Award.

Unfortunately, DeRodes was too young by two grades to advance to the state competition, despite his science prowess.

Worthington Estates Elementary School fifth-graders were pitted against their parents in "Are You More Coordinated Than a Fifth-Grader?" in March. The event challenged parents with timed jump rope, hula hoop and paddleball contests, along with volleyball throws and balance beam shuffles.

More accolades for students came as Worthington Kilbourne and Thomas Worthington high schools' Project Lead the Way participants won "best display" at the Innovation Showcase at COSI.

Project Lead the Way is a new district program that combines science, technology, engineering and math.

Kilbourne Middle School learned it was designated an "Ohio School to Watch" for the second year in a row.

At the end of the month, Evening Street Elementary School students chuckled over critters as the Columbus Zoo brought parrots and porcupines and a red-tailed boa constrictor to the school.

Voters say "no" to district

Residents voted May 6 and Issue 17, the district's operating levy, fell hard. Board members blamed the economy as 60 percent of residents who voted said "no way" to increasing their annual taxes.

Local news went national when McCord Middle School seventh-grader Sam Post sailed into silver-medal honors with his mini-robot boat at the National Robotics Challenge. Post won second place in the nation in the middle school division of the robot construction category.

A member of the McCord Robotics Club, Post is no stranger to national wins; last year, he won first place in the nation with a robot sumo wrestler as a member of the Granby Robotics Club.

More honors came to students with the Thomas Worthington drumline's first-place state win, followed by a second-place trophy in the World Guard International World Championship competition.

Students from several district elementary schools stepped deep into the past for Olde Worthington Days, donning knickers and straw hats or aprons and bonnets to retrace the steps of Worthington pioneers at St. John's Episcopal Church and the Orange Johnson House.

The end of the month went down to the dogs as a golden retriever named Norman won $10,000 in Bissell's Most Valuable Pet contest and gave his winnings to Jakob and Colin Robison, who suffer from Dravet's syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy.

The vacuum company was touched by Norman and his owner teacher Tara Driscoll's gift, so they punched up the prize, adding $4,000 more to the check so the Robison family could purchase a seizure relief dog from 4 Paws for Ability.

Graduating seniors from Worthington Kilbourne and Thomas Worthington tossed beach balls around and threw caps in celebration during commencement ceremonies in June at the Schottenstein Center.

Board members met to mull over numbers again and finally decided another levy request would be placed on the November ballot -- but the amount would not be decided until they determined how much more to trim from an already-tight school budget.

The Thomas Worthington library beat out 4,000 other school libraries, becoming one of five libraries to be designated a 2009 Library of Distinction by the Ohio Educational Library Media Association.

Library Media Specialist Krista Taracuk said it was "an awesome honor" and said district support helped her to create an excellent program.

Pounding hammers and whining drills replaced the sound of books hitting desks as contractors worked to complete needed repairs at the school buildings over the summer.

Students attending summer school opened a few books, but also took to fun courses such as Science Mania and Camp Creativity.

The month ended in mourning. Recent Thomas Worthington graduate Nate Marburger, 18, died in a single-car accident in North Carolina. Family and friends described him as "a scholar athlete and a loving son, brother, grandson and friend who could light up any room he walked into."

Summer fun

The rockets' red glare filled the sky in Fourth of July fireworks displays around town, and a new summer recreation course coupled Worthington teachers with the Worthington Community Center for "The ABCs of Nature" at Brookside Elementary School as the dog days of summer began.

Worthington students studied animals at Brookside's pond and fed the school's resident tortoises, as well as exploring science with microscopes.

A congressional appointment caused a rare occurrence: two seniors from the same high school -- Thomas students Harrison Haley and Dean Zettler -- were selected to attend the United States Naval Academy.

Another honor for Worthington students and a teacher came in July as Worthington Kilbourne High School's Roger Beck was awarded the 2009 Environmental Education Award at the Solid Waste of Central Ohio Emerald Awards for helping students to build an energy-efficient house at 258 N. 21st St. in Columbus.

Built by Beck's students in the former HomeBASE program two years ago, the house won the 2006 Presidents' Award from the Columbus Landmark Foundation and was nominated for a Recchie Award.

In August, board members created a long list of possible budget cuts if another levy fails, included doubling athletic participation fees and eliminating high school busing, art and physical education teachers.

At a public forum, residents let board members know the district's programs were valuable and gave their input in prioritizing reductions.

School officials finally decided on a 3.9-mill incremental levy for Nov. 3 that would end up as a permanent 6.9 mill levy, if approved by voters.

Conrath said reductions still would be needed, but the incremental levy would help to dig the district out of a deficit and give board members more time to determine needed reductions.

Band students at both high schools braved sizzling heat to march to the music during band camp, and school supporters cheered the district's "Excellent with Distinction" rating on the state report card as school began for the 2009-10 year.

Community members also learned they would get "two for one" at Worthington Estates as Karen Groff and Jennifer Williams, both former principals, took over as co-principals of the elementary school, each working part time to fill one position.

'Levy-fail' list unfurled

As leaves began to fall, board members looked over a "levy-fail" list that outlined district cuts if voters failed to approve the incremental levy, along with a shorter -- but still substantial -- list of cuts to be considered even if the levy passed.

More than 125 teacher positions could be cut if voters failed to pass the tax issue, along with significant cuts to athletics and extracurricular activities.

Evening Street Reading Recovery teacher Kellie Ehlers said she couldn't stop smiling after being named the newest Gary Smith Compassionate Teacher in September.

Brookside students began to reap the produce from their "Three Sisters Garden." The school partnered with Local Matters and Urban Wild last fall to design the garden.

Principal Fritz Monroe said he took "a bushel basket of sweet corn" to the food pantry at Smoky Row Brethren Church.

Worthington teachers responded to the district's financial woes by agreeing to accept no raises in 2011-12, extending their contract by one year at the current terms.

Perry and Phoenix Middle School students remembered the Sept. 11 tragedy on Patriot's Day, forming a "living flag" on the Perry football field.

Hundreds of students and parents gathered on the front lawn of Thomas Worthington High School for a districtwide celebration of the state report card rating, while school officials tried not to worry about the district's academic success falling victim to "levy-fail" cuts.

Worry turned to illness in some cases as the H1N1 flu pandemic slowly moved through the district's school buildings, causing absences to spike more than 20 percent at many of the schools and 38 percent at Worthington Estates on Oct. 9, when 180 students out of 477 stayed home.

News of the absences came just one week after a 14-year-old boy from Whitehall died from the disease.

The incremental levy request became Issue 49 and the campaign heated up with colorful signs and buttons showing up on lawns and lapels. Volunteers hit the streets a lot harder than last time, stressing the campaign's slogan, "Vote Yes for Proven Results."

As Halloween loomed, board member Marc Schare called the district's latest five-year financial forecast "frightening," because it reflected a "levy-fail" scenario with a predicted deficit of $11.2 million in 2012.

Redemption at the polls

Smiles lit up the room as numbers for Issue 49 inched up on Election Night, and school supporters cheered as voters approved the incremental levy request by more than 58 percent in a landslide victory.

Treasurer Jeff McCuen could find only one other Worthington levy request, in 1987, that passed by almost 60 percent.

Worthington students began several community service projects, including Penny Harvest kickoffs in many of the schools and Liberty Elementary School's "Frankie's Locker."

Physical education teacher Rob Smith organized the Locker Program, sponsored by Propel Sports Group. Students filled a full-sized locker "belonging" to Columbus Crew player Frankie Hejduk with school supplies and nonperishable food items for children in need.

Smith is a past member of the Columbus Crew and Hejduk was his teammate on the 1996 Olympic team.

Both high schools' theater departments celebrated Darwin's 200th birthday by performing Inherit the Wind, depicting the controversial 1925 Scopes trial that focused on teaching evolution in public schools.

The last month of the year began with a new venture as Assistant Principal Geno Smith opened the Aviary school store, giving the Thomas Worthington Cardinals a new place to roost. The former school store had been converted to classrooms years ago, but Smith volunteered to organize a new store so students could purchase supplies before and after school.

Community service heightened for the holidays, with students from nine Worthington schools and St. Michael's Catholic School collecting 16,000 canned food items for the St. Michael Food Pantry to benefit many local families.

Kilbourne Middle School's Leadership Club also collected food items and blankets, giving 1,222 cans of food and 24 blankets to local families, as well as selling candy canes and washing tables in the cafeteria to raise funds to sponsor six families.

"Our kids always come through when we ask," said teacher Elaine Dentler.

Songs of the season rang through the community as the schools' choirs and bands gave a myriad of performances.

Granby Elementary School's choir took second place for the second year in a row in the "Christmas Idol" contest, sponsored by a local radio station. The choir beat out hundreds of other school choirs with its song, We Wish You a Swingin' Holiday.

The year ended with both high schools breaking piggy banks and digging deep into pockets before winter break to make sure local families have a happier holiday.

Worthington Kilbourne "adopted" 55 children, raising funds to purchase gifts for the children, and Thomas Worthington raised funds to purchase gift cards for 30 area families.