Warsaw Community Schools is planning a $78 million budget for 2018, up by about $1 million from 2017.

Brandon Penrod, chief financial officer, presented the annual budget to the school board of trustees at Tuesday’s work session.

Penrod said the budget doesn’t differ that much from 2017 and should have no tax impact.

The general fund has a budget of around $52 million. The general fund is determined by the state.

Other funds, such as a rainy day fund and transportation fund, are paid for by local taxes.

Penrod said that 2018 should not change taxes, and is line with the budgets passed in previous years.

On Monday, Penrod will ask the board to approve advertising the budget and to set a public hearing in October for public feedback.

After the board approves the budget, it will be sent to the Indiana Department of  Local Government Finance for approval and then back to the school board for final  approval.

In other financial news, WCS is aiming to take the next step in the $10 million student activity slated to be built at the high school.

The center is still in the process of being designed, Penrod said.

On Monday, the school board will vote on whether to re-approve the building corporation and resolutions to determine the need for the project. They also will consider selecting a construction manager for the center.

In other business, Shelly?Wilfong, chief analytics officer, presented the results of the 2017 ISTEP test.

In most categories, the school is doing average or above average in the state,?Wilfong said.

The one category that stood out as low was math, she said.

Superintendent Dr. David Hoffert said he was told there was an issue with the math scores this year and math scores were low across the board.

Hoffert said due to the state transitioning out of ISTEP to the ILEARN test, students have to keep their scores.

During the last legislative session, the Indiana General Assembly ended the state using ISTEP, replacing it with a new a test called ILEARN.

The ILEARN is slated to go into practice in fall 2019.

Board Secretary Randy Polston asked how it is fair that students have to keep their scores if there was problem with the test.

Wilfong acknowledged there are some problems with the ISTEP. She said if  you look at other data like SAT scores and Advanced Placement scores, the school performs above average.

The lower scores on the ISTEP is an anomaly, Wilfong said.

“Unfortunately, it’s the highest stakes test,” she said.

Dani Barkey, chief accountability officer, said it’s a challenge to keep up with the demands of the ISTEP but it has never been a block to a student graduating.

Part of the problem is teachers don’t see the questions and are only given a basic outline of the test.

“It’s really difficult to gauge what a student is getting or not getting,” she said.

She added that through their partnership with the University of Virginia, officials have been working on ways to teach and getting most students through the test.

In other news, the board heard a plan to accept a national grant of $3,000 that will allow for devices for mobile hot spots to be available for students to take home.

The hot spots are designed for students who live in rural areas who don’t have access to internet at home to do their homework.

There will be four devices placed at the high school and three at each middle school.

Students will be able to check them out at their school’s library.