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Warsaw school board unanimously passed its 2003 budget in a special meeting Thursday.
The total budget, approximately $47.4 million, is a 2.4 percent increase over the 2002 budget, Rande Thorpe, Warsaw Community Schools business manager, said in a previous meeting.
The 2003 budget includes $34.8 million in the general fund, a 2.56 percent increase over last year (salaries and other personnel expenses for teachers and support staff are paid from the general fund); $3.45 million for debt service, a decrease of more than 33 percent from 2002 (payments on bonds and loans come from debt service); $2.7 million for the transportation fund, which pays for school buses, bus drivers' salaries, services and supplies and transportation office expenses; $6.26 million in the capital projects fund, a 33.25 percent increase over 2002 (the CPF finances land and building acquisition and rental, construction and improvements); and $190,000 for the preschool fund, the same as 2002.
No members of the public were present and the budget was passed without discussion.
The board also appointed Mark Minatel to serve the remainder of Charles Sauders' term as District 4 representative, and board attorney Max Reed swore in Minatel after his appointment. Sauders resigned Aug. 1 to become principal of Silver Lake Elementary School; his term expires in December 2004.
Minatel, 32, who lives in Winona Lake and has a master's of business administration degree from Butler University, is a business consultant for Baden, Gage & Schroeder LLC.
He said after the board meeting that he is interested in the quality of education on a professional level and as a parent.
He also believes it is important to hire and retain devoted teachers, to train staff members who want to be administrators, to "really communicate to other parents the importance of being involved in your child's education" and to teach children to be better citizens.
Minatel was chosen from a field of five candidates after interviews conducted in executive session before the board meeting.
The school board also passed a resolution recognizing Sauders "for his dedication and meritorious service to Warsaw Community Schools and to the board of school trustees."
Sauders, who served on the board from 1994 to 2002, brought the board greetings from Silver Lake Elementary School, "a nice little family schoolhouse," and invited the board members to tour the school at their convenience.
Warsaw school board members are Craig Allebach, Brad Brail, Larry Chamberlain, Cathy Folk, James Folk, Mark Minatel and Roy Szymanski. Superintendent is Dr. David McGuire. The board regularly meets at 7 p.m. on the third Monday of each month.
