Warsaw School Board held its first public hearing Monday for general obligation bonds for school construction projects planned to start in 2024.
Board President Heather Reichenbach said the board has to have two public hearings. The second hearing will be Aug. 14.
Chief Financial Officer April Fitterling said Warsaw Community Schools has a 10-year facilities plan and the school corporation has to be continually doing projects to keep up with the plan.
She said some of the projects the school corporation has talked about doing possibly starting in spring or summer 2024 include replacing windows at Harrison and Eisenhower elementaries, improvements at the Warsaw Area Career Center and work on athletic fields.
Fitterling said the maximum requested will be $8 million in general obligation bonds for the projects. She said it will be tax neutral.
It is planned the bonds will be issued in September or October.
The board took no action Monday.
Earlier in the meeting, the board heard an update on busing students across Ind. 25.
Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education Tracy Horrell said a representative from the Indiana Department of Transportation will be attending the next Warsaw Traffic Commission on Wednesday about the Union and Ind. 25 area and he isn’t entirely sure what the conversation will be like.
Horrell said WCS’ position is the school corporation does not want students crossing Ind. 25 in order to walk to school. Any student who has to cross Ind. 25 to get to school will be bused. Any student who is found out to have crossed Ind. 25 will have their parents notified.
Also, School Nurse Coordinator Tracey Akers gave the board her annual nurses report.
Some of the ways school nurses help the school corporation include improving the general wellness of staff, help improve student attendance through health promotion and disease prevention and management, deals with federal and state law compliance and preparing for emergencies.
Some of the responsibilities school nurses are responsible for, Akers said, include compliance with immunization requirements, recognizing signs of physical abuse and neglect, meeting with counselors to address social emotional concerns, monitoring communicable diseases and case management of students with chronic health conditions.
Akers also shared some numbers with the board. For the 2021-22 school year, there were 7,022 students enrolled in the school corporation. There were 159 students with food allergies, 40 that dealt with seizures and 16 that had diabetes.
In the 2022-23 school year, there were 7,087 students enrolled in the school corporation. There were 22 that had diabetes, 54 who dealt with seizures, 239 who had asthma and 159 who had food allergies.
In other business, the board:
• Was reminded any parent who hasn’t registered their child for the 2023-24 school is encouraged to do so as soon as possible.
• Was reminded Tools for School is July 26 at the Kosciusko County Fairgrounds.
• Was reminded students’ first day of school is Aug. 11.
• Learned the high school construction project is still on schedule.
• Approved the 2023-24 student handbook.
• Approved the administrative, certified, classified, transportation, food service, parent/guardian/athlete and coaches handbooks.