Beyond the Balance Sheet: Is Westerville Focused on the Right Future?

Part 3: Beyond the Balance Sheet: Is Westerville Focused on the Right Future?

Intense community debates over star ratings and tax levies often hide a more fundamental question. Is our school system preparing its students not just for state tests but for a complex, rapidly changing world?

As outlined in this series, Westerville is a district with strong academic talents in Part 1 and faces a pressing financial situation that requires difficult decisions in Part 2. The latest state data adds urgency to both issues. The 2025 Ohio School Report Card, released in mid-September and publicly discussed by the district on October 30, shows Westerville City Schools has an overall rating of 3.5 stars. The district received four stars in Achievement and four stars in Progress, along with a 93.9 percent four-year graduation rate. It scored lower in Early Literacy and in the new College, Career, Workforce, and Military Readiness measure.

Those results establish two priorities that are more important than the headline number.

In previous years, Westerville held a 3-star rating in Early Literacy. That rating showed the district was meeting the minimum state standard for K through 3 reading proficiency but not exceeding it.

On the latest report card, Westerville’s Early Literacy score was 67.5 percent. The district reported that achieving a 3-star rating in that category required at least 68 percent. That means Westerville fell just short of the 3-star threshold by half a percentage point.

This is no longer just a warning light in the background. It has become one of the most serious long-term academic risks in the district.

Reading proficiency by third grade acts as a crucial milestone for nearly everything that comes afterward. Students who fall behind in literacy by the end of grade 3 are less likely to keep up through grades 4 to 8. They are also less likely to stay on track to earn the necessary high school credits and graduate on time. When a district can't meet the 3-star benchmark in Early Literacy, the problem isn't just whether a child can sound out words. It also involves whether enough students can analyze information, compare sources, and distinguish fact from fiction in a media environment that promotes speed, outrage, and repetition.

There is also a rules issue within that score. Part of the Early Literacy calculation depends on an approved diagnostic tool that the state accepts for tracking K through 3 reading improvement. Westerville has been using i-Ready. Administrators have said they are reviewing that choice because state rules are narrowing the list of reading diagnostics that will count. That means the district is being judged not only on how well children read but also on whether it uses the exact tools the state recognizes.

That does not address the core problem. If too many students are still not reading at grade level by third grade, they start every other subject at a disadvantage.

A year ago, Westerville’s Progress rating, which measures student growth over time, increased from 2 stars to 4 stars. That increase was seen by the district as proof that classroom instruction was boosting learning for students who needed to catch up after the pandemic.

This year, the Progress rating remained at four stars. That matters because it shows last year’s improvement wasn’t just a one-time bump. The district is still, on average, demonstrating more than a year’s worth of academic growth in a single year of schooling. Basically, teachers are still pushing students forward faster than the state baseline expects.

For a district under financial strain, that stability is crucial. The Progress score is the most accurate measure the state offers of daily instructional effectiveness. A strong Progress score shows that students are learning at a pace that closes gaps instead of widening them. It also indicates the district is reaching many different types of learners at once. Students who struggle are gaining ground, while students who are well ahead continue to make progress.

The core issue is sustainability. Westerville is reducing and consolidating resources while trying to maintain manageable class sizes and asking voters for new revenue. The Progress score indicates what is currently effective. The question remains whether that level of growth can be maintained with fewer adults and less support in classrooms.

For the first time, Ohio rated districts based on College, Career, Workforce, and Military Readiness. The state uses a checklist of eleven possible demonstrations, such as achieving a certain number of Advanced Placement test scores at or above a set threshold, earning a specific number of college credit hours while still in high school, obtaining approved industry credentials, and fulfilling military commitments.

Westerville scored low in this category.

One reason is how the state defines success. The district mentioned a student with a GPA around 3.65, multiple business pathway classes, Advanced Placement coursework, and six college credits. Under the new rules, that student was not considered “ready” because the state required either three qualifying AP test scores or 12 college credits in specific arrangements.

This leads to two issues. First, the label gives the impression that Westerville graduates are unprepared for what lies ahead, even though many are clearly ready. Second, that low rating drags down the district’s overall score, despite strong Achievement and Progress scores and a near 94 percent four-year graduation rate.

It also reveals a divide. Districts with the funding to combine AP tests, dual credit, and workforce credentials in exactly the ways that meet the state formula will perform well. Districts that offer opportunities that don't align perfectly with that formula won't do as well. Westerville is in the middle. The district provides a wide range of advanced coursework and career pathways. At the same time, it is reducing its budget and seeking support from voters.

Westerville received an overall rating of 3.5 stars on the 2025 report card. The state classifies that range as meeting expectations. The district reported an internal composite score of 3.094. The state requires a score of 3.125 to earn four stars. In other words, Westerville was close to earning four stars but fell just short.

A year earlier, Westerville’s report card rated the district at four stars overall, with four stars in both Achievement and Progress, and five stars in Gap Closing. This performance positioned the district among the strongest suburban systems in central Ohio. By September 2025, Westerville's rating has decreased to 3.5 stars overall. This places it below districts like Dublin and Olentangy but above larger urban districts that scored in the 2- to 2.5-star range.

Now, add one more piece that voters are not being told clearly enough.

The state report card does not evaluate how local cuts affect services. It does not assess whether a district can afford programs like art, orchestra, AP electives, reading intervention staff, library staff, one-on-one support, mental health services, bus routes, sports travel, or summer programs. These are decisions made locally. They are typically the first to be cut when revenue falls short and are at risk if the tax levy fails. However, they are not included in the star calculation. The report card also does not consider whether students still have access to the programs that initially kept them engaged in school.

This is the main division in the current dispute. On paper, Westerville remains steady in Progress. Students continue to demonstrate more than a year’s worth of growth within a year. Graduation rates stay close to 94 percent. The district can highlight strong academic achievements in several areas.

In practice, the district warns that if the levy fails, certain programs will be cut or eliminated. These reductions could happen immediately or soon after. The state will not record these cuts. The state will not lower a star rating because the high school no longer offers a specific elective or because elementary reading support is reduced. The report card will not reflect the day a student who only comes to school for band no longer participates in band.

So the debate is not just about how Westerville scores today. It's also whether the district can continue doing what has caused those scores.

Can the district accelerate Early Literacy enough for all students to read at grade level by third grade? Can it maintain and fund the classroom efforts that lead to consecutive 4-star Progress scores? Can it keep graduation rates around 94 percent while also convincing the state that those same seniors are “ready,” even when the state’s definition of readiness leaves out some high-achieving students? Can it do these things if it is cutting the very programs that often help students stay connected to school?

Those are future questions being argued in the present tense.

The levy on the ballot will decide how much help the schools get to answer them.

The Westerville News is a reader-supported publication by Gary Gardiner, a lifelong journalist who believes hyper-local reporting is the future of news. This publication focuses exclusively on Westerville—its local news, influence on Central Ohio, and how surrounding areas shape the community.

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