After a second hearing Monday on applying for a maximum of $30 million in lease bonds, the Warsaw School Board approved to proceed.
According to Chief Financial Officer April Fitterling, the school board was required to hold two hearings in regard to the bond. The first was March 9.
There were no comments from the public.
Fitterling said the mission of the project is the renovation of and improvements to Warsaw Community High School, including classroom additions and renovations, safety and security improvements and HVAC upgrades.
On March 9, Superintendent Dr. David Hoffert said WCHS is going on 30 years, with some parts of the building going back as far as 1984 or 1985.
Monday, Hoffert went over the projects the bonds will cover, including academic spaces, removing temporary walls at Warsaw Area Career Center, and updating the HVAC system and electrical outlets.
Another project that will be included is a main entry/welcome point at the high school with controlled access points, Hoffert said.
Todd Samuelson, partner at Baker Tilly, said the bonds will not affect the tax rate. During Tuesday’s meeting, Samuelson said the estimated maximum repayment term for the bonds is 20 years.
Also at Monday’s meeting, Brenda Linky, secondary coordinator for special services at Warsaw Community High School, was awarded the first annual Inclusivity Award.
Dr. Dani Barkey, assistant superintendent for secondary schools, said one of the things the school corporation wanted to do was recognize those people that “really worked hard at inclusivity” even before the strategic plan was developed.
High School Principal Troy Akers called Linky a longtime friend and a longtime special educator.
Not too long after moving to Warsaw, Akers said Linky became a teacher in the school corporation, making
“an incredible impact at the high school.”
“One thing that she talked about, but we could never get quite off the ground, was doing something through athletics with our students in the special needs program,” Akers said. She tried to do that on her own by making fun things to do for her students.
The idea eventually developed the unified athletics program.
Akers said the first sport developed in the program was the unified track team.
Linky said unified sports is an IHSAA sport. The thing she likes about unified sports is it doesn’t differentiate who’s in special services and who’s not.
When it came to inclusivity, Akers said he couldn’t think of a better person to receive the award.
In other business, the board:
• Approved a bid for the tennis court project at the high school to Performance Services, Indianapolis. The contract price is not to exceed $1 million, subject to final negotiations of terms and conditions.
• Approved the school safety/security systems to be upgraded to RAPTOR.
• Learned prom will be May 15 from 8 to 11 p.m. at the Kosciusko County Fairgrounds.
• Learned graduation will be June 4.
