Warsaw Cuts Six Teachers
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Six teachers and the assistant athletic director at Warsaw Community High School and three elementary school counselors won't have their contracts renewed for the 2003-04 school year, the Warsaw School Board decided Monday.
By unanimously approving a move from block scheduling to a five-period trimester system at WCHS, the administration could cut several teachers from the high school without compromising classes.
All teachers cut were either considered non-permanent, in the first two years of their contracts, or semi-permanent, within the third through fifth years of their contracts. (In years six and beyond, according to superintendent Dr. David McGuire, teachers are considered permanent, or tenured.)
Teachers who won't be returning are: Rachel Higgins, family and consumer science; Susan Mishler, physical education and assistant athletic director; Kelly Morrow, art; Lois Padilla, math; Troy Rudd, Spanish; and Dayna Yoder, middle school math.
Dr. Jennifer Brumfield, WCHS principal, and the board members emphasized that the teachers whose contracts were not renewed are highly effective teachers who would be retained if it were economically possible.
The board also cut three elementary school counselors - Bonnie Swanson, James Thompson and Beverly Vanover - in spite of pleas from parents to keep the counselors.
Kyle Bruner, the father of two elementary school children, said, "I can't stress enough how much I object to this. ... The counselors provide a service that teachers are not prepared for."
Ronnie Sams, pastor of First Christian Church, said, "I think that keeping the counselors for our kids is so critical, I would hope and urge that you find another way to balance the budget."
McGuire said Warsaw schools instead will use three mental health therapists, who will be paid out of federal funds formerly used for the North Central Indiana Special Education Cooperative. NCI recently disbanded, and school corporations are now responsible for their own special education services.
He also said Bowen Center has agreed to provide some free services to the corporation.
Cuts in teaching and counseling staff are necessary, McGuire said, because of the school corporation's financial situation.
WCS business manager Rande Thorpe said the general fund budget for this year is $34,817,955. All salaries and benefits are paid from the general fund, and it is almost 67 percent of the total WCS budget. Projected revenue, however, Thorpe said, for the general fund is $34,078,747, leaving a deficit of $739,208.
The corporation originally planned to use the cash balance to make up the difference, he said, but now the state is predicting that funding will be even less than projected, and the deficit may be twice what was originally planned.
Thorpe also said the 2002 average state expenditure per student statewide was $4,895, but in WCS the average per student was $4,710.
The 2003 budget was built on the belief that WCS would receive a 3.11 percent increase from the state. That increase may be 1 or 2 percent, said Craig Allebach, board president, or there may not be an increase this year.
Also, utilities are projected to increase at least 5 percent, possibly more if the United States has a war with Iraq, Thorpe said, and benefit costs for WCS employees increased 52 percent last year.
"It's easy to identify the problem. It's not so easy to identify where the dollars are going to come from to fix it," he said.
Because the majority of the schools' budget is the general fund, and because salaries and benefits make up 90 percent of the general fund, Thorpe said, budget-balancing must start there.
"When we talk about cuts we're kind of forced into the area in our general fund where the salaries are because that's where the money is," he said.
• Board faces other issues of concern
Personnel cuts are not the only changes causing controversy in Warsaw Community Schools. Problems with overcrowding and school boundaries also brought people to Monday's school board meeting.
Debbie Scharf, owner of The Children's House Child Care, said Warsaw Schools previously had a policy that children could attend school in the district where the child care provider lives. However, that policy has changed for Harrison Elementary, where many of the children she cares for now attend, and she was recently notified that Harrison will no longer allow student transfers because Harrison is at capacity.
"In not allowing transfer students that are in the same corporation, there's a possibility of putting my day care under," she said. "I don't know if it's a concern of yours. It is to my parents."
WCS superintendent Dr. David McGuire told Scharf to put her concerns, along with any recommendations for a solution, in writing.
"We will try to work toward some resolution," he said. "It may not be in your favor, but we'll try."
In other business, the board:
• Approved the 2003-04 school calendar. The first day of classes for students will be Aug. 19; Christmas break will be from Dec. 22 through Jan. 2 (students will return Jan. 5; spring break will be April 5-9; the last day for students will be June 2; and graduation will be June 4.)
• Heard that enrollment at Warsaw schools as of Monday was 6,394 students, up 102 students from the same time last year.
• Approved a bid of $790,000 from Quality Plumbing and Heating, Bunker Hill, for air conditioning at Lakeview Middle School.
• Approved advertising for bids for fire alarm replacement at Edgewood Middle School and for remodeling at Lakeview.
• Had the first reading for a revised parent-student handbook at Warsaw Community High School.
McGuire also explained to the board why school has not been delayed on some recent snowy days.
"People don't realize the number of kids we would have sitting home alone - it's literally in the thousands. There would be a lot of little kids sitting in dark houses alone," he said.
The decision to delay is not made according to how well a driver of a car can cope with weather problems, he said, but it based on how well a professional driver in a school bus can do.
He depends on the recommendations of bus drivers as to whether or not they can negotiate slick roads, he said, "and if they say no, I'm not going to risk the lives of bus drivers and little kids."
School board members are: Craig Allebach, Larry Chamberlain, Gene England, Cathy Folk, James Folk, Mark Minatel and Ron Yeiter. The board meets at 7 p.m. on the third Monday of each month in the administration building. [[In-content Ad]]
Six teachers and the assistant athletic director at Warsaw Community High School and three elementary school counselors won't have their contracts renewed for the 2003-04 school year, the Warsaw School Board decided Monday.
By unanimously approving a move from block scheduling to a five-period trimester system at WCHS, the administration could cut several teachers from the high school without compromising classes.
All teachers cut were either considered non-permanent, in the first two years of their contracts, or semi-permanent, within the third through fifth years of their contracts. (In years six and beyond, according to superintendent Dr. David McGuire, teachers are considered permanent, or tenured.)
Teachers who won't be returning are: Rachel Higgins, family and consumer science; Susan Mishler, physical education and assistant athletic director; Kelly Morrow, art; Lois Padilla, math; Troy Rudd, Spanish; and Dayna Yoder, middle school math.
Dr. Jennifer Brumfield, WCHS principal, and the board members emphasized that the teachers whose contracts were not renewed are highly effective teachers who would be retained if it were economically possible.
The board also cut three elementary school counselors - Bonnie Swanson, James Thompson and Beverly Vanover - in spite of pleas from parents to keep the counselors.
Kyle Bruner, the father of two elementary school children, said, "I can't stress enough how much I object to this. ... The counselors provide a service that teachers are not prepared for."
Ronnie Sams, pastor of First Christian Church, said, "I think that keeping the counselors for our kids is so critical, I would hope and urge that you find another way to balance the budget."
McGuire said Warsaw schools instead will use three mental health therapists, who will be paid out of federal funds formerly used for the North Central Indiana Special Education Cooperative. NCI recently disbanded, and school corporations are now responsible for their own special education services.
He also said Bowen Center has agreed to provide some free services to the corporation.
Cuts in teaching and counseling staff are necessary, McGuire said, because of the school corporation's financial situation.
WCS business manager Rande Thorpe said the general fund budget for this year is $34,817,955. All salaries and benefits are paid from the general fund, and it is almost 67 percent of the total WCS budget. Projected revenue, however, Thorpe said, for the general fund is $34,078,747, leaving a deficit of $739,208.
The corporation originally planned to use the cash balance to make up the difference, he said, but now the state is predicting that funding will be even less than projected, and the deficit may be twice what was originally planned.
Thorpe also said the 2002 average state expenditure per student statewide was $4,895, but in WCS the average per student was $4,710.
The 2003 budget was built on the belief that WCS would receive a 3.11 percent increase from the state. That increase may be 1 or 2 percent, said Craig Allebach, board president, or there may not be an increase this year.
Also, utilities are projected to increase at least 5 percent, possibly more if the United States has a war with Iraq, Thorpe said, and benefit costs for WCS employees increased 52 percent last year.
"It's easy to identify the problem. It's not so easy to identify where the dollars are going to come from to fix it," he said.
Because the majority of the schools' budget is the general fund, and because salaries and benefits make up 90 percent of the general fund, Thorpe said, budget-balancing must start there.
"When we talk about cuts we're kind of forced into the area in our general fund where the salaries are because that's where the money is," he said.
• Board faces other issues of concern
Personnel cuts are not the only changes causing controversy in Warsaw Community Schools. Problems with overcrowding and school boundaries also brought people to Monday's school board meeting.
Debbie Scharf, owner of The Children's House Child Care, said Warsaw Schools previously had a policy that children could attend school in the district where the child care provider lives. However, that policy has changed for Harrison Elementary, where many of the children she cares for now attend, and she was recently notified that Harrison will no longer allow student transfers because Harrison is at capacity.
"In not allowing transfer students that are in the same corporation, there's a possibility of putting my day care under," she said. "I don't know if it's a concern of yours. It is to my parents."
WCS superintendent Dr. David McGuire told Scharf to put her concerns, along with any recommendations for a solution, in writing.
"We will try to work toward some resolution," he said. "It may not be in your favor, but we'll try."
In other business, the board:
• Approved the 2003-04 school calendar. The first day of classes for students will be Aug. 19; Christmas break will be from Dec. 22 through Jan. 2 (students will return Jan. 5; spring break will be April 5-9; the last day for students will be June 2; and graduation will be June 4.)
• Heard that enrollment at Warsaw schools as of Monday was 6,394 students, up 102 students from the same time last year.
• Approved a bid of $790,000 from Quality Plumbing and Heating, Bunker Hill, for air conditioning at Lakeview Middle School.
• Approved advertising for bids for fire alarm replacement at Edgewood Middle School and for remodeling at Lakeview.
• Had the first reading for a revised parent-student handbook at Warsaw Community High School.
McGuire also explained to the board why school has not been delayed on some recent snowy days.
"People don't realize the number of kids we would have sitting home alone - it's literally in the thousands. There would be a lot of little kids sitting in dark houses alone," he said.
The decision to delay is not made according to how well a driver of a car can cope with weather problems, he said, but it based on how well a professional driver in a school bus can do.
He depends on the recommendations of bus drivers as to whether or not they can negotiate slick roads, he said, "and if they say no, I'm not going to risk the lives of bus drivers and little kids."
School board members are: Craig Allebach, Larry Chamberlain, Gene England, Cathy Folk, James Folk, Mark Minatel and Ron Yeiter. The board meets at 7 p.m. on the third Monday of each month in the administration building. [[In-content Ad]]