To help contain costs to the General Fund, Warsaw Community School Corp. Board of Trustees Monday night approved a teacher retirement incentive program.
According to Chief Financial Officer Kevin Scott, during master contract discussions last fall, General Fund cost-savings program possibilities were discussed. As a result, the bargaining team agreed to pursue a retirement incentive for teachers at the top of the pay scale.The bargaining team included WCEA members, board members and administrators.
The one-time buyout incentive will be an offer of $25,000. An offer letter will be sent to WCS teaching staff members.
Scott said funding for the program is outside the General Fund, but the savings will directly benefit the General Fund. He estimated the savings to be about $200,000 per year.
Ten teachers will be allowed to participate in the program, Scott said. School board member Delores Hearn said that if more than 10 teachers are interested, there is an outline on how the 10 teachers will be selected.
Teachers must have 20 years of continuous service at WCS to participate. Any teacher eligible and who desires to take advantage of this offer must submit a letter of retirement effective at the end of the 2008-09 school year. Notification of accepted applicants will be made following the May regularly scheduled school board meeting.
If more than 10 applicants are received, those not accepted may withdraw their letter of retirement and return to the classroom for the 2009-10 school year.
The 2009-10 school calendar and calendar procedures were approved by the school board.
Gensinger said the new state superintendent of schools, Tony Bennett, is not allowing early dismissal days for staff development. Schools must now have the full 180 school days. If Warsaw were to go ahead with those days, Warsaw would be six days short of the required amount of days.
For the 2009-10 school year, the first student day will be Monday, Aug. 17. Fall break is Oct. 22-23, Thanksgiving break is Nov. 26-27 and Christmas break is Dec. 21 through Jan. 1.
There will be no school on Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 18 or on Presidents Day Feb. 15, unless Presidents Day is needed for a snow makeup day.
Spring break will be April 5-9, with the last student day being June 1. Graduation for Warsaw Community High School will be June 11, but may be sooner if there are no snow makeup days.
In other business, the school board:
n Heard a presentation from Director of Transportation Della Swain.
During the 2007-08 school year, Warsaw buses traveled 865,863 miles; made 1,411 extracurricular trips and traveled 87,240 extracurricular trips. There were 52 routes and 65 buses.
The lowest cost per gallon was $2.56, with the highest cost per gallon being $4.36.
During the 2008-09 school year so far, Swain reported, the lowest cost per gallon has been $1.67, with the highest cost per gallon being $3.69. Current gas price is $1.70 per gallon at the school corporation's cost.
n Approved the purchase of three school buses from Kerlin Bus Sales for $352,357.02. Swain said Kerlin's bid was the lowest. One bus is a 66-passenger conventional, one is a 28-passenger conventional bus with handicap lift and the third is a 84-passenger transit bus.
n Approved new central office hours during spring and Christmas break.
Beginning this year, the central office will be open during spring break Monday through Friday. In addition, the central office will be open during Christmas break with the following exceptions: half day Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, half day New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. If these days fall during weekends, days the office will be closed will be determined by the administration.
The hours of operation for both breaks will be 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Summer hours for the central office will continue to be 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
n Heard a brief presentation from Tom Kline, curriculum director for grades 7-12, that Warsaw Schools are doing very well in math.
Kline said he found five common characteristics to improving math in Warsaw Schools. Those are advancing textbooks, ability grouping, extra time put in for studying math, extra help and mastery.
"Schools that use the greatest combination of those five things have the better scores," he said.
n Heard from Gensinger that Warsaw Community Schools gained two students overall from last month. The total student population is 6,911.
n Recognized Lakeview Middle School eighth-grader Tayler Mylin for being instrumental in saving her father's life using CPR, and LMS teacher Ray Davis for teaching her CPR.
n Recognized Edgewood Middle School's MathCounts Team for placing in the top two teams at a recent regional competition and advancing to state competition.
n Recognized EMS seventh-grader Anna Bearss for being the 2009 Kosciusko County Spelling Bee champion.
n Approved four out-of-state conference requests for employees.
n Announced EdCom is Saturday at 9 a.m. in the WCHS Tiger Den.
