Hilliard Voters Approve Funding to Replace Three Elementary Schools and Preserve District Programs

Passage of Issue 39’s $142 Million Bond and Operating Levy Ensures Facility Upgrades, Staffing Stability, and Expanded Support

Hilliard City Schools will advance its plans to replace three elementary schools after Hilliard school-district voters approved a 6.9-mill operating levy and $142 million bond issue at the polls Nov. 5.

According to final unofficial results from the Franklin County Board of Elections, Issue 39 passed with 26,351 votes for the measure- or 53 percent- and 23,146 against the measure, or 47 percent.

“We are incredibly grateful to our community for their support. This outcome ensures we can move forward with critical investments in our schools, staff, and programs, all of which are essential to ensuring that every student has a learning environment that supports 21st century instruction,” Hilliard Superintendent Dave Stewart said.

The passage of Issue 39 also allows the district to preserve current programming, avert staffing cuts, and go forward with Phase 1 of the district’s Master Facilities Plan.

Phase 1 includes repurposing Brown Elementary School as the district’s third sixth-grade school.

Doing so will allow each of the district’s sixth-grade buildings- Station, Tharp and the future school, to feed each of the three district’s three middle schools, Heritage, Memorial, and Weaver.

The district will identify a site to build a replacement Brown Elementary School.

Beacon and Ridgewood elementary schools will be demolished and replacement elementary schools built on the same site.

The first steps toward advancing the Master Facilities Plan is to begin soil testing for the future site of the new Brown Elementary School, “as we work to finalize the purchase of the property,” said Stacie Raterman, director of communications for Hilliard City Schools.

Then, the district will start the process of selecting and hiring a construction-management firm to create more specific schedules, Raterman said.

Passage of the operating levy prevents any of the staff reductions and budget cuts that district administrators outlined.

The budget cuts would have reduced the district’s annual operating budget by $7 to $10 million and included:

• Reducing the number of teaching positions (certified), across the district, by 26; and reduce the number of classified personnel (non-teaching) by 13.

• Reducing the number of administrative positions, district wide, by 4.

• Reducing building, department, and professional development budgets by $1.5 million, district wide.

• Reducing counselors and/or social workers by 5, district wide.

• Eliminating summer school (Providing summer school is not a requirement and its elimination would result in Hilliard students attending summer school in another district or enrolling in another program).

• Expanding walking zones in a manner to allow for the reduction of 5 bus routes and drivers.

• At the secondary level (high schools, middle schools, and Sixth-Grade buildings):

• Increasing pay-to-participate fees to $300 for middle school and $600 for high school. The current fees are $80 and $100, respectfully.

• Reduce the staff at the Innovation Campus by 5.

• Eliminating 1 college counselor.

• Schedule class size to contractual maximums.

• At the elementary school level:

• Eliminating noon assistants.

• Eliminating Arrow Program.

• Eliminating Innovation and Discovery assistants; reduce Innovation and Discovery specialists by 8.

• Scheduling class size to contractual maximums.

The district’s budget for fiscal year 2026 is projected to be $256.5 million, so the reduction of $10 million would have been equivalent to a 3.9 percent cut, according to District Treasurer Melissa Swearingen, but those are not to occur.

"We’re excited to continue our mission of ensuring every student is Ready for Tomorrow, and we thank the entire community for their investment in the future of our schools. Because of this investment, the next several years will be an exciting time for our Hilliard City Schools community,” Stewart said.

Additional tax levies approved

Issue 46, a renewal levy for Franklin County Children’s Services, was approved by a wide margin, with 344,084 voters in favor of the measure (62 percent) and 207, 023 opposed to it (38 percent)

Issue 47, a renewal levy for the Central Ohio Transit Authority, passed with 327,157 in favor of the levy (57 percent) and 251,100 against it (43 percent).

Issue 47 passage was a necessary precursor to any Leap Road project that might develop here in Hilliard. Access our story on that project HERE or by clicking the link below.