SYRACUSE - On the agenda for the Wawasee School Board meeting Tuesday the hot topic looked to be board reorganization, but in the end there was no reorganization at all.

Board member Brian Dawes was the only person who made any kind of recommendation that would have changed the makeup of the board, nominating George Gilbert for president and Dallas Winchester for vice president, but Dawes could not get a second.

In the end, Winchester remained president and Mary Lou Dixon vice president, with only Dawes voting against the motion.

The board also heard Wawasee High School Principal Ellen Stevens' proposed changes to the school for the 2005-06 school year. Stevens had three main changes she wants implemented; reduction of study halls, adding courses and an increase in the number of credits required for graduation.

"We need to make systematic changes in our curriculum," Stevens said, citing the school's budget and staffing issues as the only constraints on implementing her plan.

According to her plan, the incoming freshman class would take five classes instead of four and a study hall. This would not affect special education students or students who need additional assistance. This would be a rolling plan that in four years would complete eliminate the traditional study hall from all students' schedules but would not affect current high school students.

She also wants to increase the number of credits for graduation from 40 to 42.

"We would like to be proactive, not reactive," she said. "The idea is to increase the relevance and rigor and lower the down time."

The board passed a motion to implement Stevens' changes at the school.

While they were looking into added classes, Dawes asked Stevens and superintendent Dr. Mark Stock to begin a study to implement a personal finance class as a requirement for graduation. They will report back to the board at the next meeting. [[In-content Ad]]