| South-Western City School District | |
| Type: | Public-Suburban |
| Established: | January 1, 1956 |
| Region: | Midwest |
| Grades: | PK-12 |
| Superintendent: | William Wise |
| Students: | 21,000 approx. |
| Conference: | Ohio Capital Conference |
| Colors: | Blue and Green |
| Location: | Grove City, Ohio |
| Country: |  United States |
The South-Western City School District (SWCSD) is Ohio's sixth largest public school district located southwest of the city of Columbus. The district serves nearly 20,000 students throughout the southwest quadrant of Franklin County, including the cities of Galloway, Georgesville, Grove City, and Urbancrest. The district also serves all of Franklin, Jackson, Pleasant, and Prairie townships and a portion of Columbus.
The district operates fifteen elementary schools, five intermediate schools, five middle schools, four high schools, and a career academy.
Only one high school was in existence in the area now called the South-Western City School District in1954. Six boards of education governed the individual school districts serving the area.Population was growing rapidly then, as it has continued to do since. Schools were sorely pressed to meetthe needs.
Only the Franklin Local District had a financial base adequate to support the growing demands. That situationcame about because of the location of large industrial operations in the years just prior to 1936.A committee of citizens representing the six districts was formed, and meetings were held with members ofthe various boards of education, and with county and state officials.
On January 1, 1956, the South-Western Local School District was formed. It was a consolidation of five localsystems and one exempted village school system. These were: the Grove City-Jackson Exempted Village District,the Franklin Township Local District, the Prairie Township Local District, the Pleasant Township Local District,the Urbancrest Village District, and the Georgesville Local District.
The consolidation was planned for: economy of operation; expediency to provide an adequate education forchildren of the area; opportunity because of the greater financial base of the newly combined school district;and potential for support of a quality school system.
Immediately following the creation of the new district, an additional tax levy for operation expenses wasrequested of voters and was approved. That same year, a bond issue to pay for construction of additional schoolbuildings was also requested of voters, and was approved.
The years from 1957 to 1960 were tumultuousones for the district. Population soared so that eachyear more than 1,000 new students entered theschools. This necessitated a huge financial outlayfor additional buildings, the employment of teachersto staff the new classrooms, and the provision ofadequate services.
The tax duplicate of the district also grew rapidlyduring these years, and fortunate it was, as the Stateof Ohio's participation in financing education inthe district decreased from nearly 40 percent at thebeginning of the period to less than 30 percent of thenecessary costs by the end of the decade.During the same period, bond issues and taxlevies requested of voters were not approved timeafter time at the ballot. Costs soared as new studentscontinued to enroll in the district's schools.As the area became more heavily populated,Grove City changed from a village to a chartered cityin 1958. On August 19, 1959, the Board of Educationof South-Western Local Schools took action asoutlined in law to change the status of the schoolsystem and the South-Western City School Districtwas established.
By this time, public sentiment was so aroused bythe obvious need of the schools that a major schooloperating tax levy, and shortly thereafter a bondissue for the construction of additional buildings,was approved. At that point, the South-Western CitySchool District started to achieve a reputation as oneof Ohio's most outstanding school districts.Continuously throughout the following sevenyears improvements were made within the district.Kindergarten and special programs began, vitally neededcounseling and psychological services were added, and atechnical and vocational program was greatly expanded.Culminating the achievements during this period wasthe building of the Paul C. Hayes Technical TrainingCenter.
Changes in laws governing state participationin financing school districts brought a financialsqueeze in 1968. During that time, cutbacks inpersonnel and services brought challenges to theschool district. Cutbacks continued in 1969 and 1970as the percentage of state participation in financingthe South-Western City Schools continued to decline.Voters turned down requests for approval of additionaloperating levies – even though the school tax rates inthe South-Western City School District have alwaysbeen very low in comparison with other districts inFranklin County.
A crowning achievement of the district was theopening, during the 1970–1971 school year, of twonew high schools: Westland High School and GroveCity High School. These two buildings, planned to house twothousand students, were built in 1970-1971 at theamazing low cost of $18.98 per square foot, or a perpupilcost of $1,700. These buildings were classedby architects and educators as "ten years ahead ofthe times."
To stem crisis-level overcrowding, in 1998 thedistrict's voters passed one of the largest schoolconstruction bond issues in the history of Ohio.The issue made way for the construction of fourintermediate schools (fifth and sixth grade buildings),a middle school, an additional high school, and atechnical career center, as well as renovations to sevenexisting schools.
The first of the construction projects began withthe renovations to the district's current high schoolauditoriums and fine arts areas. Auditoriums receivedsubstantial upgrades with new floor coverings,seating, lighting, and sound systems; and musiceducation facilities were renovated and expanded.Considerable work was also done to the high schoolathletic facilities, with stadium expansions/upgrades,and renovations as needed to gyms, locker rooms,and weight-training facilities. All of the high schoolathletic fields also benefited from new, high-efficiencylighting.
The district's middle schools also saw significantimprovements to auditoriums in the summer of 1999,with new seating, wall and floor coverings, lightingand sound systems. Once described as "eyesores,"the auditoriums became functional, welcoming spacesfor school and community use.The first four of the seven planned schoolsopened in January 2001, serving nearly 3,200fifth and sixth grade students throughout thedistrict. The intermediate schools not only easedthe overcrowding at the elementary and middleschools, but they became models of cost-effective andefficient educational facilities. When the constructionaccounts closed on the first four intermediate schools,the completed projects were approximately $913,000under their collective construction budgets. Notonly were the buildings under budget, their capacitywas increased by 100 students each in anticipation ofhigher enrollments than originally expected.
In the summer of 2001, the Board of Educationdedicated Jackson Middle School. Jackson MiddleSchool replaced Park Street Middle School (formerlyknown as the Jackson Township/Grove City HighSchool building). Since 1928 the Jackson Township/Grove City High School building had been a fixtureon Park Street. In keeping with district expectations,the project finished at more than $200,000 underits construction budget, with a 100-student greatercapacity than originally planned.
The district's fourth high school, Central Crossing,completed its first year of operation with just freshmen,sophomores, and juniors in the school. CentralCrossing High School saw its first graduating classin the Spring of 2004. The opening of the 272000ft2, 1,800-student capacity school providedmuch-needed space at Franklin Heights, Grove City,and Westland High Schools, which had been critically overcrowded.
One of the unique community amenities providedat Central Crossing High School is the CentralCrossing Branch of Southwest Public Libraries, whichis available to the community when school is not insession.
The South-Western Career Academy also openedin the fall of 2002. The full-service career/technicalschool serves juniors and seniors from the South-Western City School District, offering them a widearray of traditional and non-traditional technicalcourses. Career Academy students access stateof-the-art programming and technology that helpsto prepare them for either a career or college. TheSouth-Western Career Academy is host to the nation'sfirst AAA Sales and Service Office located within aschool.
As a result of the well-managed construction projects,taxpayers received one more building than anticipated.From the savings realized from the preceding projects,combined with interest earnings on investments, thedistrict had the resources to convert Paul C. HayesTechnical School into an additional fifth and sixthgrade school, Hayes Intermediate School.In 2009, the district closed two of its buildings -Harrisburg Elementary School and Kingston School,as part of its cost containment strategies.Also in 2009, the Auditor of State's office conducteda Performance Audit of the district. The districtcontinues to aggressively pursue the implementationof the recommendations contained in the PerformanceAudit. Strategies and timelines have been developedto assist the district in this implementation process.
| School | Nickname | Location | Colors | Established | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alton Hall | Cougar Cubs | Galloway, Ohio | 1960 | |||
| Bolton Crossing | Thunders | Grove City, Ohio | 2016 | |||
| Buckeye Woods | Bobcats | Grove City, Ohio | 1995 | |||
| Darby Woods | Cougar Cubs | Galloway, Ohio | 1995 | |||
| Darbydale | Dolphins | Darbydale, Ohio | 1958 | |||
| Finland | Eagles | Columbus, Ohio | 1958 | |||
| Harmon | Hawks | Columbus, Ohio | 1950 | |||
| Highland Park | Hurricanes | Grove City, Ohio | 1969 | |||
| JC Sommer | Jets | Grove City, Ohio | 1957 | |||
| Monterey | Mustangs | Grove City, Ohio | 1963 | |||
| Prairie Lincoln | Cardinals | Columbus, Ohio | 1957 | |||
| Prairie Norton | Bulldogs | Columbus, Ohio | 1951 | |||
| Richard Avenue | Roadrunners | Grove City, Ohio | 1958 | |||
| Stiles | Wildcats | Columbus, Ohio | 1963 | |||
| West Franklin | Bear Cubs | Columbus, Ohio | 1954 | |||
| School | Nickname | Location | Colors | Established | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Woods | Bulldogs | Columbus, Ohio | 2001 | |||
| Galloway Ridge | Bobcats | Galloway, Ohio | 2001 | |||
| Hayes | Huskies | Grove City, Ohio | 2003 | |||
| Holt Crossing | Rockets | Grove City, Ohio | 2001 | |||
| Park Street | Timber Wolves | Grove City, Ohio | 2001 | |||
| School | Nickname | Location | Colors | Established | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beulah Park | Broncos | Grove City, Ohio | 1964 | |||
| Finland | Vikings | Columbus, Ohio | 1964 | |||
| Jackson | Jaguars | Grove City, Ohio | 2001 | |||
| Norton | Wildcats | Columbus, Ohio | 1964 | |||
| Pleasant View | Panthers | Grove City, Ohio | 1959 | |||
| School | Nickname | Location | Colors | Established | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Crossing | Comets | Grove City, Ohio | 2002 | |||
| Franklin Heights | Golden Falcons | Columbus, Ohio | 1956 | |||
| Grove City | Greyhounds | Grove City, Ohio | 1970 | |||
| South-Western Career Academy | None | Grove City, Ohio | 2002 | |||
| Westland | Cougars | Galloway, Ohio | 1970 | |||
SWCS has always had issues with funding. While they passed a property-tax school levy on their third try in May 2005, a drop in funding from the state as well as other factors such as a spike in gas prices forced the school district to make more than 14 million dollars in reductions after passing the levy. In November 2006 they attempted to pass another levy, a 1% income tax, it was defeated. Fortunately, due to a relatively warm winter and several other items, they only needed to cut one million dollars out of the following year's budget. They decided not to try to pass a levy in May 2007 in hopes that the state budget, re-done in summer of 2007, would provide more funding. The district was again on the ballot November 2008 for additional operating expenses and an Ohio School Facilities Commission building project with the state offering nearly $206 million in tobacco settlement funds to the district and again this bond issue and levy was defeated and the Ohio School Facilities Commission Funding is no longer available. The school board voted in February 2009 to cut all extra-curricular activities and high school busing as well as additional positions in order to shrink the district budget. The district went back on the ballot for another operating levy in May 2009 and again in August 2009 in hopes to reinstate these programs. Both attempts failed and the district started the 2009-2010 school year with no extra-curricular activities, high school busing, etc.
With a projected deficit for the 2009-2010 school year, another levy attempt was made for November 2009. Known as Issue 47, it was the last attempt for increased tax revenues in calendar year 2010 and the possible reinstatement of some extra-curricular activities for the remainder of the 2009-2010 school year. Without the passage of this levy, the district would not have been able to collect additional tax revenues in 2010 and would have continued to fall deeper into a deficit. The issue passed with 19,579 (50.58%) for to 19,130 (49.42%) against via the preliminary count results.
The School Board members are: