New Penalties for Wawasee Athletes with Substance Offence
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Jordan Fouts-
The board approved up to $334,000 in May to replace 17 metal roof joists above the middle school pool, as well as replace ceiling tiles and install blowers and insulation. Kari Vilamaa, president of Barton-Coe-Vilamaa, presented the revised numbers after pushing the contractors for hard figures.
The pool space had been declared unsafe because of the deteriorated state of the roof joists, and could not be occupied without repairs.
Also Tuesday, Athletic Director Steve Wiktorowski announced a number of changes in his program, such as new penalties for substance abuse violations and an end to games during spring break.
Deciding substance abuse classes weren’t tough enough on their own, he said athletes guilty of drug or alcohol offenses also would be required to complete nine hours of community service in addition to attending a more demanding class under the new policy. They may alternatively spend six hours of Saturday service at the Kosciusko County Jail under careful supervision, then write a paper on their experience.
The jail also may arrange interviews between inmates and athletes on how drugs and alcohol had affected their lives, he said.
Wiktorowski also said that since coming to Wawasee last year he disagreed with penalizing students for missing games over spring break, and recently reviewed the policy. Starting next year, there will be no games between the first Friday of break to the following Saturday, though optional practices may be held.
And he said dual-sport participation will be allowed under certain circumstances, to encourage wider participation and not force students to choose a specialization too early. Interested athletes must go through a process that includes obtaining permission from both coaches, and meeting with coaches and parents to make the requirements and expectations of both sports clear.
Wiktorowski also went over his budget for the 2011-12 school year, with disbursements of $207,178 and receipts of $218,441. He noted out of 20 sports, only boys and girls basketball, boys soccer, football and cheerleading ended the year in the black.
“They’re basically funding everybody else,” he remarked, noting that it isn’t unusual.
The corporation is also preparing to pave a new parking lot for Milford Middle School, which will provide about 32 extra spaces.
The property was purchased three years ago, and funds come from money set aside in 2008 for an addition to the school in anticipation of a state decision on kindergarten. The state changed its mind and the plan was scrapped, Schools Superintendent Tom Edington noted, and some of the money was put toward security and wireless for the building.
Wawasee expects to get bids for the project by July 2 and hopes to finish the new lot before school starts in fall.
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The board approved up to $334,000 in May to replace 17 metal roof joists above the middle school pool, as well as replace ceiling tiles and install blowers and insulation. Kari Vilamaa, president of Barton-Coe-Vilamaa, presented the revised numbers after pushing the contractors for hard figures.
The pool space had been declared unsafe because of the deteriorated state of the roof joists, and could not be occupied without repairs.
Also Tuesday, Athletic Director Steve Wiktorowski announced a number of changes in his program, such as new penalties for substance abuse violations and an end to games during spring break.
Deciding substance abuse classes weren’t tough enough on their own, he said athletes guilty of drug or alcohol offenses also would be required to complete nine hours of community service in addition to attending a more demanding class under the new policy. They may alternatively spend six hours of Saturday service at the Kosciusko County Jail under careful supervision, then write a paper on their experience.
The jail also may arrange interviews between inmates and athletes on how drugs and alcohol had affected their lives, he said.
Wiktorowski also said that since coming to Wawasee last year he disagreed with penalizing students for missing games over spring break, and recently reviewed the policy. Starting next year, there will be no games between the first Friday of break to the following Saturday, though optional practices may be held.
And he said dual-sport participation will be allowed under certain circumstances, to encourage wider participation and not force students to choose a specialization too early. Interested athletes must go through a process that includes obtaining permission from both coaches, and meeting with coaches and parents to make the requirements and expectations of both sports clear.
Wiktorowski also went over his budget for the 2011-12 school year, with disbursements of $207,178 and receipts of $218,441. He noted out of 20 sports, only boys and girls basketball, boys soccer, football and cheerleading ended the year in the black.
“They’re basically funding everybody else,” he remarked, noting that it isn’t unusual.
The corporation is also preparing to pave a new parking lot for Milford Middle School, which will provide about 32 extra spaces.
The property was purchased three years ago, and funds come from money set aside in 2008 for an addition to the school in anticipation of a state decision on kindergarten. The state changed its mind and the plan was scrapped, Schools Superintendent Tom Edington noted, and some of the money was put toward security and wireless for the building.
Wawasee expects to get bids for the project by July 2 and hopes to finish the new lot before school starts in fall.
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