Handrails on the lower level bleachers of the Tiger Den at Warsaw Community High School will be installed, Superintendent Dr. Craig Hintz announced at Monday’s school board meeting. At the Feb. 24 meeting, Carolyn Wulliman and Mary Hartle, Winona Lake, requested the school board look into adding handrails in the gymnasium because the basketball fanbase is aging and it’s becoming increasingly harder for them to get around in the gym. They also collected a petition with almost 200 signatures supporting their cause. Last night, Hintz said, “At the last board meeting, two community patrons addressed the board, presented a petition for the board to consider and our system to consider the installation of handrails on the lower portion in the Tiger Den. We discussed this matter at the work session last week and we determined that we will move forward with installing handrails on the lower level bleachers in the Tiger Den. We certainly appreciate the concern and the request from supporters of Tiger Basketball.” Hintz also reported on three Warsaw Community Schools employees being honored by their peers. Erica Purvis, WCS treasurer, has been named the Indiana Association of School Business Officials 2014 Region 2 Treasurer of the Year. At the awards banquet during the IASBO annual meeting in French Lick May 8, Purvis will be presented with a plaque for being the Region 2 recipient. Hintz congratulated Purvis for being recognized by her peers. Director of Building and Grounds Greg Schroeder was named the IASBO 2014 Region 2 School Support Professional of the Year. He also will be presented with a plaque at the annual meeting May 8. Third, Edgewood Middle School Assistant Principal Tracy Horrell has been named the Indiana Interscholastic Athletic Administrators’ Association Junior High/Middle School Athletic Administrator of the Year. He was honored at a reception in Indianapolis Sunday. In his enrollment report, Hintz said the student count for March 2014 was 7,276. In March 2013, enrollment was 7,085. “The official ADM (average daily membership) count taken on Feb. 2 reflected 7,157 students and this is an increase of 34.5 students from the official count day last September, which is noteworthy in that our enrollment increases throughout the school year,” Hintz stated. He then told the board that the schools reported ISTEP+ and IREAD went very well. All the ISTEP+ exams are boxed up and ready to be shipped today. “It’s certainly a big effort for many that are involved, even with the delays that we had and a couple of school closures in there. I want to thank our students, staff and parents for doing their part in making this year’s high-stakes test the best it could be. We do have another round of testing coming up and preparation has been second to none,” Hintz said. Jay Baumgartner, board member, asked if there were any computer issues this year like there were in 2013. Chief Accountability Officer Amy Sivley said this round of testing was done with paper and pencil. The next round in late April/early May will be online. In other business, Hintz reported that for the 2014-15 school year, WCS preliminarily has 24 half-day kindergarten students enrolled. As it now stands, the final day of school for all students for the 2013-14 school year will be June 5. Graduation is set for June 6 at 7 p.m. in the Tiger Den.
