A single-question plan to make improvements to Worthington High School

After evaluating several options, our school board and administration feel confident the proposed plan balances addressing facility needs and remaining cost conscious to district taxpayers.

What high school improvements are included in the plan?

  • Build a new two-story, eight-classroom addition to address capacity needs. 

  • Renovate and reconfigure existing classroom space to support programming needs.

  • Renovate and expand the kitchen and servery area and reconfigure and expand the cooler/freezer/dry storage space. 

  • Renovate the existing office and student services area into a student commons and dining area to address capacity needs, and connect the east and west sides of the building on the second level.

  • Relocate the administrative offices and student services area to the north main entrance of the building to improve overall building security and provide better access to specialists. 

  • Renovate a portion of the media center to provide additional workspace for the district’s IT department to better support students and staff. 

  • Improve several restrooms to be single-stall, accessible privacy restrooms.

  • Expand the equipment and storage area to support Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs. 

  • Address Long-Term Facilities Maintenance (LTFM) needs, including replacing the metal panel and aluminum windows in the north classroom wing, upgrade various finishes such as flooring, paint, and ceilings, replace built-in items such as doors, hardware, casework, and lockers, and replace several areas of the existing roof.

  • Complete fixtures, furnishings, equipment, and technology upgrades in renovated spaces.

Conceptual Drawings:

Hover over the icons below to view details for each level of the building. Please note that the images below are conceptual and not finalized. If approved, the design process would involve stakeholder input to ensure the design best responds to those that would use the facility. 

The impact of the proposed plan:

  • The proposed plan properly reconfigures various spaces in the high school to best serve our students, staff, and community well. 

  • The proposed plan provides additional space needed driven by building capacity limits and programming evolvements.

  • The proposed plan provides additional space to serve our students, including student dining and a commons area. 

  • Improving safety and security is critical to keep our students and staff safe. The proposed plan will move the administrative offices near the secured vestibule. 

  • The proposed plan addresses several deferred maintenance needs.

Frequently asked questions about the plan

  • The project’s design and pre-construction phase would take place from August 2024 - May 2025, the bid/award phase would take place from May 2025 - June 2025, and the construction phase would take place from June 2025 - June 2027.

  • If the referendum passes, the district will begin the design process, led by the project architect. Community input is important during this process, and we will involve staff, administrators, community members, and students who will work collaboratively with the architect and project team throughout the design process. Input would be asked for and encouraged to ensure the design of the high school best represents the students, staff, and community who will use it.

  • Our high school’s facility needs aren’t going away. If the referendum fails, we will need to re-evaluate how to best address our facility needs, which could mean a combination of non-voter-approved financing and a voter-approved referendum or we may consider other facility options.