During a one-hour meeting Thursday night, the Warsaw School Board discussed facility rental fees, the Dec. 14 shooting in Connecticut and said thanks to outgoing board members. Warsaw Schools Superintendent Dr. Craig Hintz said for the past several months, the board has been considering waiving the facility rental fees for Class B non-profit organizations. All school principals have received a definition of Class B non-profits, which include Boy and Girl Scouts, 4-H, Boys and Girls Club, AAU and Sacred Heart School. Hintz requested last night that the board approve a motion to waive all facility rental fees for Class B organizations for the remainder of the 2012-13 school year. The facility rental policy will be further reviewed in the spring. The board approved the motion. Lonnie Fisher, Cub Scout Pack 3729, which has been seeking a waiver of the facility rental fees for the last few months in order to help the Pack with its own budget, thanked the board. He said the waiver will benefit many boys, not only in Pack 3729 but other Packs as well. Board Vice President Matt Dick thanked Fisher for his professionalism, patience and understanding. Later in his superintendent’s report, Hintz addressed the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut Dec. 14. The gunman, Adam Lanza, killed his mother at their home and then opened fire inside the school, massacring 26 people, including 20 children. The 20-year-old shooter committed suicide at the school. Hintz said he was mad and saddened by the tragic events. He said we must take responsibility for creating a culture where things like this can and do happen with increasing regularity. He placed the blame on video games, movies and actual events perpertrated by countrymen against countrymen that is covered over and over again on TV in the name of some cause or another. As a school, Hintz said, Warsaw takes responsibility for the safety of its students. After the events unfolded Friday, he said swift action was taken in making sure the school buildings were safe when they opened Monday morning. He thanked local law enforcement, including the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department and Warsaw Police Department, for their efforts. Over the course of the next several weeks, Hintz said the school corporation will look at and re-evaluate its safety protocols. “I can’t imagine what the community of Newtown is going through,” Hintz said, but Warsaw Schools’ hearts and thoughts go out to them. At the end of the meeting, Board Secretary Dan Metzger thanked WPD Chief Scott Whitaker and Kosciusko County Sheriff Rocky Goshert for sending officers to Warsaw schools following the shootings. He said he heard a lot of supportive comments from parents. After serving one to 16 years, three board members are going off the board effective Dec. 31. Hintz presented plaques to each of them. A free video of the presentations is available on the Times-Union website at www.timesuniononline.com Dan Robinson served 16 years, from 1993 to 2000 and 2005-2012. A board member may not serve more than two consecutive terms. Deb Wiggins served from 2005 to 2012, many of those years as board president. Christie Gale served just this year after being appointed to finish Kent Adams’ term. Adams resigned to become the clerk-treasurer at Winona Lake. Gale ran for re-election, but was defeated in November by former Harrison Elementary School Principal Randy Polston. Dick thanked Wiggins and Robinson for their service to the community. Both were very welcoming to the new board members, Dick said. “We’re leaving it in good hands,” Wiggins responded. “It’s been a privilege to serve with you,” Robinson said. “I’m confident you will do a good job.” In other matters, the school board approved: • The 2013-14 curriulum changes as discussed at the Dec. 11 public work session. • The 2013-14 school year calendar; and the 2014-15 traditional calendar and modified balanced calendar drafts as discussed at the Dec. 11 public work session. The calendar committee plans to further investigate both versions of the 2014-15 calendar and do a more comprehensive survey before presenting the board with a recommendation at the end of the current school year. • All of the snow removal contracts as discussed at the Dec. 11 public work session. • The Computerized Yamaha Music in Education System as discussed at the Dec. 11 public work session by Eisenhower Elementary Principal Chris Gensinger and Chief Technology Officer Brad Hagg. Of the approximate $25,000 cost, $16,000 will come from Capital Projects Fund monies dedicated to Eisenhower, and $9,000 will come from district supplemental funds.
