On Nov. 3, democracy did what democracy is supposed to do: It allowed citizens to decide the direction of this district.

Educate Worthington applauds those Worthington residents who took time away from their busy lives to get educated about the levy and to cast an informed vote.

Believe it or not, EducateWorthington.org is not disappointed with the passage of this levy, as it represents a significant improvement over the larger levy that was offered in May. It also temporarily protects our children from the "massive cuts" that some board members seemed all too willing to impose on students -- despite the district's cash surplus that extends into 2012.

This brings us to the truly critical question for Worthington: "Where do we go from here?"

Do residents now disengage? Do district leaders and the union return to "business as usual," ignoring the fact that rapidly rising salary and benefit costs will require much larger levies in 2012, and again in 2014?

Do we ignore the sad reality that student programs are still going to be cut, that student services are clearly taking second priority to compensation, and that this is only going to get worse in coming years? Do we ignore the near certainty that Worthington residents will not be able to keep up with the levies the district will require?

Or do we instead, as a community, commit to remain engaged and to press for real change in the unsustainable spending that is at the heart of the "school funding crisis" throughout Ohio? Do we recognize that the union contracts of the past cannot be the union contracts of the future, and that we will be doing ourselves, our children, and this community a huge disservice if we don't return to putting students first?

Educate Worthington acknowledges and appreciates the efforts of valued district staff, and the prompt action by administrators to give back this year's salary increase. The union's best offer of a partial pay freeze in 2011 is helpful as well.

Unfortunately, the cumulative cost of many years of 5 percent to 6 percent average raises, nearly free health insurance, taxpayer-funded health care deductibles and extremely generous retirement packages cannot be offset by a partial salary freeze every 16 years. In fact, the new five-year forecast proves this by showing that even after taking these "freezes" into account, the district still projects ever larger levies in 2012 and 2014 -- or sooner.

Educate Worthington considers this course unsustainable, and we are not alone. Consider that each future levy will likely be followed by more actual cuts to students programs. And even more "massive cuts" will be threatened just to get people to vote "yes." This is the course that the district faces, and we wonder who in this district would consider this a viable solution.

Hopefully, it is becoming apparent to residents, students, district leaders, district staff and state legislators that real change is no longer an option -- it is a necessity. And we hope that those who care about this community and want to see its students and residents prosper will recognize the importance of honestly addressing this challenge.

Starting today, all of us must stay engaged and pursue real, meaningful solutions.

John Herrington is one of the founding members of Educate Worthington.