Northridge Local Schools is a rural school district located near the geographical center of the state of Ohio. Encompassing almost 140 square miles, the district includes a portion of Delaware, Knox, and Licking counties (the largest portion is in Licking County) including the Villages of Alexandria and Hartford, as well as part of the Townships of Bennington, Burlington, Harrison, Hartford, Jersey, Liberty, McKean, Milford, Miller, St. Albans, Trenton, and Washington. Licking County is served by U.S. Route 70 and 62, and State Routes 79, 40, 13 and 161. The District is located about 12 miles northwest of Newark and approximately 20 miles northeast of Columbus, the state capital.

The School District in 2019 served a population of approximately 8,600 residents. Of the households in the district (3,331 households) 86% of adults are employed with the top four occupations reported as agriculture, education, health care and social work. Within the district boundaries, there is no significant business and industry beyond family farms

Northridge Local Schools was founded in 1959 through the consolidation of Homer, Alexandria, Burlington and Hartford districts. The original high school, located on U.S. 62, opened in February 1963 and included the current athletic stadium facility.

The Northridge campus was created in 1996 with the building of the new high school and renovation of the old high school to serve as the middle school. The district office is located at the main campus (6066 Johnstown Utica Road, Johnstown, Ohio) and in the fall of 2021, the new elementary school will open which will complete the vision for all of the school district buildings to be housed at one central location.

Realizing this vision took decades and a groundswell of community support to pass a bond issue in 2019 after several attempts. The 4.3 mill levy will generate $22 million over 27 years. The 0.5 percent earned income tax will bring in an average of $1 million annually and will provide money for permanent improvements like safety upgrades, repairs and replacement of mechanical systems and ongoing maintenance for the high school, middle school and new elementary.

While a portion of the earned income tax will eventually be directed toward the stadium project, it will be a minimum of three years before that money becomes available.