Warsaw Schools Looks To Future Expansion
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Warsaw Schools may soon buy a piece of property to be used for future expansion if everything goes as planned.
The school board voted unanimously Monday to buy the property at 1206 Fisher Ave., adjacent to the WCS administration building and Washington Elementary. The price for the property is $76,000.
According to state law, said superintendent Dr. Lee Harman, the board must first obtain two appraisals on the property and may only offer the average of the two. The appraisals were done, and the average of $76,000 was accepted by the property owners.
"I think the best and highest use for that property is for the school corporation to own it and use it in educating our young people," Harman said.
The board has no specific uses in mind for the property, but will hold onto it for future expansion needs.
Financial matters were the focus of Monday's school board meeting as the board also discussed raising the pay for substitute teachers and changing the way board members are compensated.
Substitute teachers are becoming harder to find, Harman said. On average, 18 subs are needed in all school buildings every day, and "it's very difficult to continue to find people to fill those spots," he said.
Pay for subs has been tied to the beginning rate for teachers with bachelor's degrees, he said, with subs starting at 45 percent of the teacher rate.
Harman proposed a flat fee of $66 per day for substitute teachers, with the pay increasing the longer the sub is employed.
The board will vote on the issue at its January meeting.
Changing board member compensation from a flat $2,000 per year to a per diem basis, with a maximum of $4,000, also will be discussed more fully at January's meeting.
In other business:
• Business manager Rande Thorpe reported that the state approved the 1998 tax rate at $4.6824, which is 20 cents more than last year's rate.
• The board got a preview of the new state-mandated test for high school sophomores.
According to assistant superintendent Dr. Tony Etienne, the standards for the test are set by the state's Board of Education. The test is given to sophomores, and students may take it twice their junior year and twice their senior year. They must pass the test before they can graduate from high school.
Etienne said results from this year's test will be available in January.
The test takes approximately 11 hours to complete, compared to the SAT, which is a three-hour test.
• Harman reported that enrollment in all schools as of Monday was 6,353, or 64 students more than last year at this time.
The school board meets at 7 p.m. the second Monday of each month in the administration building. [[In-content Ad]]
Warsaw Schools may soon buy a piece of property to be used for future expansion if everything goes as planned.
The school board voted unanimously Monday to buy the property at 1206 Fisher Ave., adjacent to the WCS administration building and Washington Elementary. The price for the property is $76,000.
According to state law, said superintendent Dr. Lee Harman, the board must first obtain two appraisals on the property and may only offer the average of the two. The appraisals were done, and the average of $76,000 was accepted by the property owners.
"I think the best and highest use for that property is for the school corporation to own it and use it in educating our young people," Harman said.
The board has no specific uses in mind for the property, but will hold onto it for future expansion needs.
Financial matters were the focus of Monday's school board meeting as the board also discussed raising the pay for substitute teachers and changing the way board members are compensated.
Substitute teachers are becoming harder to find, Harman said. On average, 18 subs are needed in all school buildings every day, and "it's very difficult to continue to find people to fill those spots," he said.
Pay for subs has been tied to the beginning rate for teachers with bachelor's degrees, he said, with subs starting at 45 percent of the teacher rate.
Harman proposed a flat fee of $66 per day for substitute teachers, with the pay increasing the longer the sub is employed.
The board will vote on the issue at its January meeting.
Changing board member compensation from a flat $2,000 per year to a per diem basis, with a maximum of $4,000, also will be discussed more fully at January's meeting.
In other business:
• Business manager Rande Thorpe reported that the state approved the 1998 tax rate at $4.6824, which is 20 cents more than last year's rate.
• The board got a preview of the new state-mandated test for high school sophomores.
According to assistant superintendent Dr. Tony Etienne, the standards for the test are set by the state's Board of Education. The test is given to sophomores, and students may take it twice their junior year and twice their senior year. They must pass the test before they can graduate from high school.
Etienne said results from this year's test will be available in January.
The test takes approximately 11 hours to complete, compared to the SAT, which is a three-hour test.
• Harman reported that enrollment in all schools as of Monday was 6,353, or 64 students more than last year at this time.
The school board meets at 7 p.m. the second Monday of each month in the administration building. [[In-content Ad]]