WCS Board Covers Wide Range Of Topics
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
During its three-hour session Monday, the Warsaw School Board touched on everything from change orders to English as a Second Language students.
Wendy Wildman-Long, Warsaw's ESL director, said Warsaw Community Schools has 835 ESL students. In 1994, WCS had 30 ESL students. Of the 835 students, 94 percent speak Spanish. The remaining 6 percent encompass 21 other languages, including Khmer (1.2 percent), Russian (0.4 percent), Sango (0.4 percent), Tagalog (0.4 percent), Telugu (0.4 percent), French (0.4 percent) and Kannada (0.5 percent), among others.
"Each year we grow by 100 new students," said Wildman-Long.
The most ESL students are at the high school, 158. Other Warsaw Schools with more than 100 ESL students include Leesburg (126), Madison (111) and Harrison (110). The schools with the least amount of ESL students are Edgewood Middle School with 28 and Eisenhower Elementary with 29.
Ron Yeiter, school board president, asked if Warsaw Schools had enough personnel for the growing number of ESL students. Wildman-Long replied there's never enough staff to help the students as much as is needed. The state does provide some funding, but that is dwindling.
Leesburg has the largest number of ESL elementary students, school board member Dan Robinson said, but they have the highest ISTEP results in grade three and four and near the highest in grade five.
A majority of the ESL students have a Level 3 or 4 English language proficiency. The highest level, 5, is what Wildman-Long said they want all ESL students to achieve. Once they achieve level 5, they are no longer considered ESL students.
"Our push is to get them all to pass ISTEP and graduate," she said.
Another report was given by Warsaw Schools Chief Financial Officer Kevin Scott on WCS's 2005 year-end finances.
Last year started with a cash balance in the general fund of $2,752,000, and ended with a cash balance of $3,135,000.
Unlike the general fund, the state provides no money for WCS's transportation fund. That fund began 2005 with a cash balance of $1,188,000, ending with a cash balance of $874,000. Scott said WCS will have to watch the transportation fund to make sure they don't have a problem in the future, especially with the rising cost of fuel.
The last fund was for construction. The timing to begin the high school project was bad, Scott said, because prices rose dramatically. The bond issue was for $30 million, but the current budget is $34,335,018. WCS has $4.6 million in its construction capital projects fund.
"We're kind of at a point where we're going to be close," Scott said.
Joe Hoffman, CCI, presented the school board with eight change orders totaling $96,836.26. But the school board continues to disagree with some of the change orders and the high school administration was unaware of one change order totaling $25,993. The standing water problem on the football field and track also was discussed. With about less than six months left before the high school project is completed, the school board tabled the eight change orders and voted to have a public meeting on the project and change orders Jan. 30 at 5 p.m.
Even though Scott had two demolition estimates for Silver Lake Elementary for a cost of $57,000 or $61,700, the school board voted to hold off on any such action until February 2007. Silver Lake patron Kathy Lokotar, architect Mary Ellen Rudisel and a representative from Historic Landmarks of Indiana are looking at options to preserve the art-deco school building and need more time. Scott said it cost WCS $2,800 last year to keep Silver Lake open.
In other business, the school board:
• Heard a report on Warsaw's ISTEP scores. In English and language arts, 74 percent of students overall passed, while 80 percent of overall students passed math. A story on the scores ran in the Dec. 14 edition of the Times-Union.
• Heard a report on the CenterPoint survey to Warsaw Schools teachers and staff. The biggest problem teachers had with CenterPoint is the gradebook. Other problems include lack of training and being able to generate reports with the computer software. The software is used for keeping grades and releasing information online. Parents will be able to access their students' grades and other information beginning Thursday.
• Approved the 2006-07 school calendar with winter break being Dec. 22 to Jan. 8, 2007.
• Voted to set a time and date to discuss the School Status and Option Committee report at the Jan. 30 special meeting.
School board members are President Ron Yeiter, Vice President Dan Robinson, Secretary Gene England, Chuck Sauders, Tammy Dalton, Deb Wiggins and Cathy Folk. [[In-content Ad]]
During its three-hour session Monday, the Warsaw School Board touched on everything from change orders to English as a Second Language students.
Wendy Wildman-Long, Warsaw's ESL director, said Warsaw Community Schools has 835 ESL students. In 1994, WCS had 30 ESL students. Of the 835 students, 94 percent speak Spanish. The remaining 6 percent encompass 21 other languages, including Khmer (1.2 percent), Russian (0.4 percent), Sango (0.4 percent), Tagalog (0.4 percent), Telugu (0.4 percent), French (0.4 percent) and Kannada (0.5 percent), among others.
"Each year we grow by 100 new students," said Wildman-Long.
The most ESL students are at the high school, 158. Other Warsaw Schools with more than 100 ESL students include Leesburg (126), Madison (111) and Harrison (110). The schools with the least amount of ESL students are Edgewood Middle School with 28 and Eisenhower Elementary with 29.
Ron Yeiter, school board president, asked if Warsaw Schools had enough personnel for the growing number of ESL students. Wildman-Long replied there's never enough staff to help the students as much as is needed. The state does provide some funding, but that is dwindling.
Leesburg has the largest number of ESL elementary students, school board member Dan Robinson said, but they have the highest ISTEP results in grade three and four and near the highest in grade five.
A majority of the ESL students have a Level 3 or 4 English language proficiency. The highest level, 5, is what Wildman-Long said they want all ESL students to achieve. Once they achieve level 5, they are no longer considered ESL students.
"Our push is to get them all to pass ISTEP and graduate," she said.
Another report was given by Warsaw Schools Chief Financial Officer Kevin Scott on WCS's 2005 year-end finances.
Last year started with a cash balance in the general fund of $2,752,000, and ended with a cash balance of $3,135,000.
Unlike the general fund, the state provides no money for WCS's transportation fund. That fund began 2005 with a cash balance of $1,188,000, ending with a cash balance of $874,000. Scott said WCS will have to watch the transportation fund to make sure they don't have a problem in the future, especially with the rising cost of fuel.
The last fund was for construction. The timing to begin the high school project was bad, Scott said, because prices rose dramatically. The bond issue was for $30 million, but the current budget is $34,335,018. WCS has $4.6 million in its construction capital projects fund.
"We're kind of at a point where we're going to be close," Scott said.
Joe Hoffman, CCI, presented the school board with eight change orders totaling $96,836.26. But the school board continues to disagree with some of the change orders and the high school administration was unaware of one change order totaling $25,993. The standing water problem on the football field and track also was discussed. With about less than six months left before the high school project is completed, the school board tabled the eight change orders and voted to have a public meeting on the project and change orders Jan. 30 at 5 p.m.
Even though Scott had two demolition estimates for Silver Lake Elementary for a cost of $57,000 or $61,700, the school board voted to hold off on any such action until February 2007. Silver Lake patron Kathy Lokotar, architect Mary Ellen Rudisel and a representative from Historic Landmarks of Indiana are looking at options to preserve the art-deco school building and need more time. Scott said it cost WCS $2,800 last year to keep Silver Lake open.
In other business, the school board:
• Heard a report on Warsaw's ISTEP scores. In English and language arts, 74 percent of students overall passed, while 80 percent of overall students passed math. A story on the scores ran in the Dec. 14 edition of the Times-Union.
• Heard a report on the CenterPoint survey to Warsaw Schools teachers and staff. The biggest problem teachers had with CenterPoint is the gradebook. Other problems include lack of training and being able to generate reports with the computer software. The software is used for keeping grades and releasing information online. Parents will be able to access their students' grades and other information beginning Thursday.
• Approved the 2006-07 school calendar with winter break being Dec. 22 to Jan. 8, 2007.
• Voted to set a time and date to discuss the School Status and Option Committee report at the Jan. 30 special meeting.
School board members are President Ron Yeiter, Vice President Dan Robinson, Secretary Gene England, Chuck Sauders, Tammy Dalton, Deb Wiggins and Cathy Folk. [[In-content Ad]]