Schools Serving Pataskala

Two public school districts serve Pataskala

Both districts are public, both run preschool through grade 12, and both also serve areas outside Pataskala. This guide does not say which district serves a particular address. Use the lookup steps in the next section.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Some of the schools that Pataskala students attend are outside the city limits. That has no bearing on which district a property is in or on who may enroll. The sections on each district's schools explain where this applies.

How to find your school district

Two official lookups answer this for a specific property. Use the first, then confirm with the second.

Step 1. Look up the address in Ohio's The Finder

The Finder is run by the Ohio Department of Taxation. Enter the property's street address and read the district named under School District Income Tax Rates. The district is listed there whether or not it has an income tax.

The Finder identifies the school district for tax purposes. It does not tell you which school building a student would attend. The Department of Taxation recommends verifying its results with the municipality or the county auditor.

Step 2. Confirm on the county property record

The Licking County Auditor's property search holds the record for each parcel. The parcel record has a School District field and a Municipality field, so it shows both the district and whether the property is inside the City of Pataskala.

Which school would a student attend?

Once you know the district, the building depends on the grade. In both districts, elementary schools are assigned by address and the higher grades each have one building for the whole district.

Licking Heights

Kindergarten through grade 4 students are assigned by address to Broad Peak Elementary, Everest Elementary or Lima Ridge Elementary. The district's Find Your Elementary School locator takes an address and returns the elementary boundary. After that, students attend Summit Station Intermediate for grades 5 and 6, Licking Heights Middle School for grades 7 and 8, and Licking Heights High School for grades 9 through 12.

Southwest Licking

Kindergarten through grade 3 students are assigned by address to one of the district's three elementary schools. The district's Attendance Boundary Locator takes an address and returns the elementary assignment. When we tested it for this review, it labeled the result as the 2026-27 elementary boundary assignment. After that, students attend Watkins Intermediate School for grades 4 and 5, Watkins Middle School for grades 6 through 8, and Watkins Memorial High School for grades 9 through 12.

Each locator covers only its own district. If one returns no result for an address, the property may be in the other district, so check the district first. A locator result is not an enrollment decision. The district confirms a student's school when the family registers, and attendance boundaries can be redrawn.

Licking Heights schools

• Broad Peak ElementaryK–4
• Everest ElementaryK–4
• Lima Ridge ElementaryK–4
• Summit Station Intermediate5–6
• Licking Heights Middle School7–8
• Licking Heights High School9–12
• Pathfinders PreschoolPreschool

Everest Elementary is in Franklin County, outside Pataskala. County records place the district's other buildings listed here inside the Pataskala city limits. For addresses, phone numbers and each school's page, use the district's Schools page.

Southwest Licking schools

• Pataskala South Fork ElementaryK–3
• Etna ElementaryK–3
• Kirkersville ElementaryK–3
• Watkins Intermediate School4–5
• Watkins Middle School6–8
• Watkins Memorial High School9–12
• Pataskala BRIDGE AcademySpecialized K–12 program
• SWL Digital Academy6–12, online
• SWL Early Learning CenterPreschool

Where a building stands does not affect who may attend it. Students who live in the Pataskala part of the district attend these schools on the same terms as other district residents. For addresses, phone numbers and each school's site, use the district's Schools page.

Enrollment and registration

Each district enrolls its own students, and both require proof that the family lives in the district.

• Licking Heights: start at the district's Enrollment page.
• Southwest Licking: start at the district's Registration page.

Required documents, forms and dates change from year to year, so this guide does not list them. Follow the district's current page.

Open enrollment

Open enrollment is the Ohio term for attending a public school district other than the one you live in. Each district's board adopts its own policy on whether to accept students from other districts, and acceptance is never guaranteed. It can depend on capacity by grade and building. The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce publishes each district's current policy on its Open Enrollment page. Ask the district you want to attend about its current application process.

Calendars, buses and school closings

School calendars, bus information and closing or delay announcements change often, and the districts are the authoritative source. This guide links to them and does not copy them.

• Licking Heights: district calendar, transportation and school closings and delays.
• Southwest Licking: calendars and transportation. For closings and delays, follow the notices on the district's website.

Whether a student can ride a bus can depend on the home address and the assigned school. Ask the district's transportation office about a specific address.

Community-wide school events that we have verified appear in our events listings. For everything else on a school's calendar, use the district.

Public preschool programs

Both districts operate a preschool program: Pathfinders Preschool at Licking Heights and the SWL Early Learning Center at Southwest Licking. Who qualifies, what it costs and when applications open are set by each district and change, so check the program's page.

Career and technical education

C-TEC of Licking County, the Career and Technology Education Centers in Newark, is the public career and technical school for both districts. County tax records list it as the vocational school district for every part of Pataskala, and both districts describe it as an option for their high school students. Southwest Licking posts its C-TEC information on the Watkins Memorial High School site. Licking Heights students should ask their school counselor.

Private school and homeschooling

Private-school option

The Ohio Educational Directory System lists Liberty Christian Academy (East Campus) as an open nonpublic school serving kindergarten through grade 12, plus preschool. Its K-12 campus at 10447 Refugee Road SW has a Pataskala mailing address but is outside the city limits, in Etna Township. Its Early Learning Center at 758 Corylus Drive is inside Pataskala.

This is a directory note, not a recommendation, and it may not be a complete list of private schools that Pataskala families use. You can search the state's Ohio Educational Directory System for nonpublic schools.

Homeschooling

Ohio families who plan to educate a child at home deal with the superintendent of the school district they live in. The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce explains the current requirements and provides the notification form on its Home Schooling page.

School boards and district government

Each school district is its own unit of government, separate from the City of Pataskala. Each is governed by its own elected board of education. Pataskala City Council does not run either district and does not decide school boundaries, calendars or school taxes.

• Licking Heights Board of Education
• Southwest Licking Board of Education meetings

School taxes

Which school district a property is in affects the school levies on its property tax bill. Some Ohio school districts also levy a school district income tax on residents. Because Pataskala is split between two districts, neighbors in the same city can have different school taxes.

This guide does not list rates. For a specific address, The Finder shows whether a school district income tax applies, and the Licking County Auditor's property record shows the property's tax district and taxes. For who collects City, school district and property taxes, see Taxes for Pataskala Residents.

For other household questions that depend on the address, start with the Pataskala Resident Guide.

Official resources

• Licking Heights Local School District: schools, enrollment, elementary school locator
• Southwest Licking Local School District: schools, registration, attendance boundary locator
• The Finder, Ohio Department of Taxation
• Licking County Auditor property search
• C-TEC of Licking County
• Ohio School Report Cards, the state's official source for district and school performance data
• Ohio Department of Education and Workforce: open enrollment and home schooling

Sources and methodology

The statement that two districts serve Pataskala comes from the Licking County Auditor's records. We checked the county's municipal boundary, parcel, tax district and school district data, and every parcel recorded as being in the City of Pataskala was assigned to either Licking Heights or Southwest Licking. The same county records are the basis for which school buildings are inside the city limits.

That review describes the city as a whole. It is not a ruling on any one property, and city and district boundaries can change. For a specific address, use the lookup steps above. We tested The Finder and both district locators with sample addresses for this review.

School names, grade levels and office details are given as each district lists them. This guide does not rank or compare the districts. If you find something here that differs from a district's own information, follow the district and let us know so we can correct it.