Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
SYRACUSE - North Central Indiana Special Education Cooperative needs new facilities.
The current building, on Ind. 15 by Warsaw Community High School, is in bad shape. Owned by Warsaw Community Schools, it is falling apart and doesn't meet ADA requirements, Wawasee School Corp. Superintendent Mark Stock told the Wawasee School Board Tuesday.
"Unfortunately, things have gotten bad," he said.
Five school corporations make up the NCISE Cooperative, including Wawasee, Warsaw, Whitko, Tippecanoe Valley and NorthWood. The five superintendents, Stock said, found a piece of property that might be for sale, which they want to buy for new facilities for NCISE.
However, to buy the property, they must form an interlocal agreement, approved by all five school corporations. The money for the purchase of the property will come from the cash balance the cooperative has built up over the years.
Stock said at this point, the board needs only to give their approval for an interlocal to be formed and give the superintendents the authority to purchase the property if it is available. Wawasee School Board will make its decision at the Sept. 12 meeting.
Attorneys for each school corporation are looking at the interlocal agreement. Tamra Ummel, NCISE director, told the Wawasee School Board that Warsaw's school board approved the agreement Monday and both Tippecanoe Valley and Whitko had their first readings. Whitko, she said, is scheduled to approve the agreement Thursday.
She said the current facility houses nine staff members full-time and they need another secretary but have no place to house one. Overall, they have more than 30 staff members who have office space in the building.
"Our hope," she said, "is a new facility will give them adequate space to work properly."
The cost for the property they want to buy is approximately $379,000, she said. Stock said the property is in the city of Warsaw but not on any school property.
Wawasee School Board member Brian Dawes asked why the school board has to approve the agreement.
"Legally," said Stock, "it has to be this way ... it's just the way the law is."
Ummel said they weren't going to approve the purchase of a particular property but would be giving their approval to form the interlocal and give the authority to the superintendent to purchase the property.
If the NCISE uses cash to purchase the property, a board member asked if the cooperative will have any money for future needs. Stock said there will be a cash balance left to meet the two-payroll guideline.
The money, Ummel said, has been accumulating for 27 years and they haven't had to pay any rent during that time. Warsaw, Stock said, provided the facility for years, but can no longer because it is falling apart.
Two provisions in the agreement will allow the project and facilities to be disposed of at any time at the discretion of the superintendents. Proceeds will then be split among the original five school corporations.
Money school corporations put in the cooperative is based on the number of students in the NCISE. The numbers have been very stable, Ummel said, for all participating school corporations.
The other provision of the agreement states that if a single corporation or a minority of the school corporations withdraw from the cooperative, there would be no payback on their investment of the property until the property is sold.
"It is a very nice facility. If we are lucky enough to get this, it will fit our needs for (some time)," said Ummel.
Stock said there is still a lot of work to do before the property is purchased.
In other business, the school board:
• Held their public reading on the budget, capital projects fund and transportation bus replacement plan. No members of the public commented. The board will approve the three items at their Sept. 12 meeting at 7 p.m.
• Approved Phil Mishler as the new Wawasee High School head boy's basketball coach, a position recently vacated by Robb Berger. His contract will be for two years, continuing through the 2001-02 school year.
"We believe he will be successful in leading our program," said Stock. "He has the complete support of the administration."
"I know this will be a good move," said board member Marion Acton. He said he appreciated the efforts of WHS Principal Alan Frank and Athletic Director Mary Hurley in finding a new coach in a short time. "I'm here to say, 'Sic 'em.'"
• Approved Jeremy Lea on a regular teaching contract to teach grade four at North Webster School, Darci Gearheart on a temporary contract to teach language arts at Wawasee Middle School, Nancy Nelson to teach the first semester adult education GED class and Cynthia Cline as the North Webster School LPN.
Board members are president Jeffrey Wells, vice president Carol Swartzendruber, secretary Marion Acton, Brian Dawes and David Carey.
