WESTERVILLE, Ohio (WCMH) — Westerville City Schools is set to reduce its staff by more than 30 positions next year to make up for last year’s levy failure.
In a statement Tuesday, school leadership said the positions would be eliminated through “consolidation of responsibilities and retirements/resignations whenever possible.”
The district said the majority of those positions would be taken from the administrative team, while instructional staff represented by the teachers’ union, the Westerville Education Association, will see 18 positions eliminated through retirement; the district currently has 35 resignations and retirements on deck to help it achieve that target.
The district said there are currently 1,178 licensed/certified staff members in the district.
“All positions have not yet been fully identified, as student course selections at the secondary level have not been completed, but these will help determine areas for reductions,” the district said in its statement.
In addition, the district is looking to eliminate six unionized support staff posts, but other posts may be available for those workers; two non-union support staff positions are being reduced as well. One maintenance position will also remain vacant.
According to the statement, even with the reductions, the district will need to hire staff “across all employment groups” to fill in “known and unknown retirements and resignations.” The district is currently looking for special education aides and bus drivers; those interested can click here.
Westerville City Schools was among a handful of school districts in central Ohio that saw school levies rejected by voters. In addition to Westerville, those districts are Buckeye Valley, Groveport Madison, Madison-Plains, Marysville Exempted, and Reynoldsburg.
For the last number of years, lawmakers at the Ohio Statehouse have been weighing ways to give Ohioans relief from growing property taxes, most of which are comprised of local levies. Democrats call on the state to pick up the slack for the funding shortfalls of local schools and municipalities while Republicans call on those local entities to cut spending.
Read the full statement from Westerville City Schools District below:
The Westerville City School District has set a target to reduce staffing by over 30 positions for fiscal year 2026, primarily through the consolidation of responsibilities and retirements/resignations wherever possible. This reduction will address revenue shortfalls since the November 2024 levy failure.
The administration team will see the largest percentage of reductions. Some administrative contracts will be suspended, while others will be reduced through retirements/resignations. Responsibilities will be consolidated among the remaining administrators.
For the licensed/certified staff (Westerville Education Association), the goal is to achieve staffing reductions through retirements of approximately 18 positions of the 1,178 we currently have. We know of 35 resignations and retirements that will help us meet that target as of now. All positions have not yet been fully identified, as student course selections at the secondary level have not been completed, but these will help determine areas for reductions.
There will also be reductions in classified support staff. Within the Westerville Education Support Staff Association, six positions have been identified for reduction. However, we anticipate having other comparable positions available to those affected. Two non-union support staff positions are being reduced as well.
Additionally, one maintenance position (OAPSE 138) will remain vacant.
Even with the planned reductions, the District will still need to hire staff across all employee groups to replace known and unknown retirements and resignations. Current openings include positions for special education aides and bus drivers. Interested candidates can visit https://www.wcscareers.org/ for more information.
