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SYRACUSE – At the regular monthly meeting of the Wawasee School Board Tuesday, there were several things the board approved for the 2017-18 school year, presented and explained by Director of Finance Jim Evans.
The first item was mile reimbursement rate, which did not actually change from the previous year.
The second item was raised prices for the school lunch program. Evans explained that the government requires the school to raise their prices, so Wawasee School Corp. has raised them the minimum amount they are required, which is 10 cents. Grades kindergarten to fifth grade lunches will be $1.80, and grades sixth through 12th will be $2. The goal from the state is for every school corporation to be at the federal rates.
Third, Evans recommended approval for the Northern Indiana Education Service Center Dairy and Bakery goods prices.
Assistant Superintendent Joy Goshert presented textbook rentals fees for 2017-18. Goshert noted that the fees are up from last year, but this is because the textbooks are now uploaded onto student devices instead of parents needing to go online and download them. She noted that even though prices have gone up, they are still middle-of-the-road in comparison to other school corporations.
Director of Personnel and Legal Services James Flecker provided bid recommendations for two construction projects.
For the Wawasee Vocational and Alternative School building renovations, he recommended the services of R. Yoder Construction, which was the most competitive bid at $536,942 with the fastest timeline of 90 days.
For the Wawasee 2017 site renovation, he recommended the service offered by Niblock Excavating & Asphalt, with a total contract amount of $959,000. The sites to be worked on will be Wawasee Middle School, Milford School tennis courts and the Wawasee High School tennis court projects.
“I would caution that we be sure that it is finished the way it’s supposed to,” board member Mary Lou Dixon said. “That didn’t happen at the middle school and there have been problems there ever since.”
Flecker agreed. “We have a chance here to rewrite this situation based on our experience with that. I think we’re on the right path,” he said.
The board recognized the high school softball team, which made it to semi-state. They also recognized three track members who made it to state: Luke Griner, Alexis Manges and Hannah Marie Lambrey.
