The new school resource officer was introduced to the Warsaw School Board Tuesday as Jordan Roberts has replaced Lewis Fuller at Lakeview Middle School.
Fuller moved to the Columbia City Police Department to be a school resource officer (SRO) there.
Tracy Horrell, assistant superintendent of secondary education, said Roberts has been on the job for about a month.
Roberts said he’s has been with the Warsaw Police Department for about 12 years and this is the first time he’s served as a SRO. He’s been married for five years and doesn’t have any children at this point.

    Chris Pottratz (R), from Warrick and Boyn LLP, swears in Randy Polston Tuesday to the Warsaw School Board. Photo by Jackie Gorski, Times-Union
  

“So far, I’m loving it. (Lakeview) is a great school, great kids, great staff, very welcoming. (I) look forward to continuing to keep the school safe and continue what Lewis Fuller has been doing and continue those relationships going,” Roberts said.
Board Vice President Tom Westerhof asked what made Roberts apply for the SRO position. Roberts said the position came available and he felt drawn to it. The reason he went into policing was to make an impact in the communities he works in and to protect them. There’s no more impactful place than the innocent population in the schools. Also, Roberts said he’s able to see the impactful relationships he’s able to make at the middle-school level bear fruit. He said he feels there’s more opportunity to make a difference in that middle-school age group than an older age group.

    Chris Pottratz (R), from Warrick and Boyn LLP, swears in Matt Deuel Tuesday to the Warsaw School Board. Photo by Jackie Gorski, Times-Union
  

In other business, the board:
• Heard the state of school finances from Chief Financial Officer April Fitterling.
She said the average student count for 2023-24 was 6,705.7 students. The 2024 net assessed value for the school corporation was $3,201,959,608. The estimated population within the school corporation was 42,989.
Superintendent Dr. David Hoffert said there is a 20% decrease in the birth rate within Kosciusko County, so the school corporation may see a leveling out of the student population within the next 10 years.
• Saw re-elected board members Matt Deuel and Randy Polston sworn in.
• Voted for board officers. Heather Reichenbach was voted to remain as board president. Westerhof was voted to become vice president. Deuel was voted to be secretary.
• Voted on the meeting dates with the work session being on the second Tuesday of each month and the regular board meeting on the third Monday of each month with the exception of when they would conflict with holidays or school vacations.