001Okay, it is 5:30. I would like to welcome everyone and call to order this regular meeting of the Wall City Community School Board of School Trustees. We will begin our meeting with the pledge of allegiance and vision statement led by Mr. Neil Lyens and the invocation will be led by me. United States of America. Let us pause to center our hearts and minds. As we gather tonight, we do so with a deep sense of responsibility for the safety and well-being of every student, teacher, and staff member in our schools. May our conversations and decisions be guided by wisdom and compassion, keeping at the forefront the protection of our children and the creation of a learning of learning environments where they feel secure, supported, and free to grow. Grant us clarity to see what is needed,
002courage to make choices that safeguard our schools, and unity in working together as one community. committed to safety and care. May our actions tonight contribute to schools that are not only places of learning but places of trust, peace, and belonging for all. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Now is the part of the meeting. And there are some seats up front if anybody doesn't want to stand. There's seven seats up here. Um, now is a part of the meeting that we set aside for patron comments. We allow each patron to have three minutes to address the board president. We I'm sorry. Oh gosh. Yes. I'm sorry. Thank you for reminding me of that. Before we get into that, this is an unusual meeting tonight. Uh, we've got some meetings within meetings. Uh, and the first
003meeting um is our pre-bargaining hearing. So, at this time, we'll begin our pre-bargaining meeting. And I need a motion and a second to open. Actually, hold on. I'm still ahead of myself. Uh, at this time, I need a motion and a second to suspend the regular meeting so we can start our pre-bargaining hearing and the 2026 budget hearings. All in favor signify by saying I. I. opposed. That motion carries. So, pre-bargaining hearing. We will begin with our pre-bargaining hearing. At this time, I need a motion and a second to open the 2025 2025 um pre-bargaining hearing. Is there a motion? >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> I have a motion, a second. All in favor signify by saying I. >> I. Opposed. That motion carries. I will turn it over to Dr. Troyer
004for the pre-bargaining hearing. Indiana code requires a public hearing in which we must take public testimony regarding compensation before formal collective bargaining can begin. This year, formal collective bargaining will occur between September 15th and November 15th. Negotiations with the WCA will begin in the coming weeks, and we look forward to bringing a tenative agreement back to the board for consideration before the November 15th deadline. At this time, we will take public testimony regarding collective bargaining and teacher compensation pursuant to Indiana Code 20296-1A. Do I need to say my name and where I'm from? Julie Hersy, Syracuse, Indiana. When and where are these exact pre-bargaining hearings? Because it is my understanding the community is allowed to attend these meetings. I need a date and a time and a place, please. Thank >> Mrs. Hersy. I would
005ask for some clarification on your question. >> When are the dates and the times of these meetings? >> Of which meetings? >> Of your pre-bargaining meetings because the the community is allowed to attend these meetings. the negotiations actual bargaining meetings. Yep. Or the pre-bargaining meeting. >> The pre-bargaining The bargaining. >> That's tonight. The pre-bargaining is right now. >> The bargaining meetings that you guys are going to have. When are they? >> Let me get these for you momentarily. >> This might be a dumb question. I'm Siri, Syracuse. What is the collective bargaining? >> Collective bargaining is a statutory process in which the exclusive representative of the teachers in this case WCA uh bargains with the um school administration slash school board to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement. >> But what is What are we
006talking about? What's the collective bargaining? >> Um, we're talking about >> I guess what does it income based? >> Settling a contract that outlines pay and benefits for teachers over the course of that collective bargaining period. >> So, like everyone's salaries, >> just the teachers that are in the bargaining unit >> or not all the teachers in the bargaining unit. >> Um, all the teachers. I think all the teachers here are. Yes, they are. >> Okay. Thank you >> again, Mrs. Hersy. Um, we have a negotiation session scheduled for Wednesday, September 24th at 3:30. I don't know that we set a location, but it'll probably be here scheduled till five o'clock. We have another session scheduled for Wednesday, October 1st. Again, same time, 3:30 to 5 presumably again here at this location. And we have
007a third session scheduled for Tuesday, October 7th. at 8:00 a.m. to 400 pm. That's scheduled during the day, during the school day. Um, and again, presumably in this location. >> Are there any additional comments? Again, these comments are just on the on the >> on the pre-bargaining right now. >> Pre-bargaining. >> We'll have a time for public comment here in just a minute for things not related to bargaining. >> Anything else on pre-bargaining? >> Ann from Syracuse. So, the one that's going to happen during the day, that's when the teachers are in session. So, if it's public, they they are not be able to come. We have historically uh the last couple of years gotten substitute teachers for the negotiation team so they can come and bargain during the day instead of having to do
008that outside of their teacher pay. >> So just the negotiation team would be covered. >> That's correct. >> But what if the rest of them wanted to be there? So typically the uh exclusive representative in this case WCA uh who represents the teachers and um is the the entity that is tasked with bargaining on behalf of the teachers uh are the ones that are in the room. >> Okay. Could they take PTO to come to this? >> I'm not sure. We we haven't had We haven't had outside people come to any negotiation session that I've ever been a part of. I'm looking at Mrs. Jones here. Um, have you ever had that? >> Okay. So, let's just assume that there will be, right? >> Um, so is the um October 7th one is that's a
009whole day. So, is that meant to be like the end all be all? >> Um, it depends on where we get prior to that or during that session. >> Will there be another time if things are not settled at that meeting >> there will be. >> Yes. Okay. Thanks. >> Yeah. I was going to say I think many times they because I used to bargain in go and this is not a new practice. This was happening long time ago because lots of times you get to a certain point, you feel like you are almost ready to to to do something and then like you got that morning session, people have to get back for classes and so oftentimes um do provide subs and hopefully to get the thing hammered out during a daytime. Am I
010speaking kind of? >> Yeah, we switched. We had a model. I don't I don't remember Kim. It was three years ago. So, prior to that, we had always bargained after school or potentially even before school. I think we had a session or two. Um the one year prior to us bringing in day session bargaining, uh I think we had 11, eight, nine, 10 something. It was a lot a lot of different sessions. Um, and we ended up the next year saying, "You know what? Maybe we could uh schedule a day." Uh, in that case, the district agreed to pay for the subs on behalf of the bargaining team for the teachers. And, uh, the hope was that we could cut out a number of the afterchool sessions and come to an agreement, um, with less
011time, not less time, but less meetings. So that's just been a relatively new thing uh here at WAC, but we haven't there's nothing that says when we have to bargain. It's something we've agreed to. >> Was this meeting together? >> It was set up together >> and and again I have to clarify the WCA is the exclusive representative in teacher bargaining for the teachers at Wallace for all teachers at Wallace. So we cannot have independent bargaining sessions with other people other than the representatives of WCA >> if I understand it correctly. That doesn't mean they can't attend. We just can't negotiate with anyone else other than the representatives of WCA. Yeah. Dr. Penro, is that how you understand it? Any other comments? >> Rob Chalk from Syracuse. I'd like to know during that CBA and
012bargaining agreement how that affects administrative contracts that are currently already signed. >> The short answer is it doesn't. Um the negotiations with the um teachers in their collective bargaining agreement are independent of any other employee group. Um typically what we've done is adjust administrative contracts. Um we've done it differently over the course of the years, but the last few years we've adjusted it the same amount. So, for example, two years ago, teachers received a $3,000 uh base salary increase. And so, our administrators outside of the superintendent received the same base salary increase. Last year, it was $1,500 as part of the second year of the collective bargaining agreement. And then, u we also gave our administrators the same $1,500 increase. We had previously done that uh prior to that based on percentage and uh as
013you can imagine um the administrator salary would grow um more because of a percentage than if we just did a flat amount. So when we did a flat amount, they actually get a little bit less of a percentage, but everybody gets the same flat amount. Okay. Any other? >> Okay. Then I need a motion and a second to close the pre- bargaining hearing. Is there a motion? >> I have a motion. Is there a second? >> I'll second. >> I have a motion and a second. All in favor signify by saying I. I. Opposed. The mo the pre-bargaining hearing is now closed. We will now move on to our 2026 budget hearings. At this time, I need a motion and a second to open the 2026 bus replacement, 2026 capital projects and 2026 budget hearings.
014Is there a motion? >> I have a motion. Do I have a second? >> I have a motion and a second. All in favor signify by saying I. I opposed. Motion carries. Dr. >> Penro, you I object. Um I would like to object to this budget hearing on the grounds that the bus replacement and capital project plans were not posted on your website before this meeting. Um, like it says in IC 2040 186, also found in June, the June 25th or June 2025 state school bulletin and a formal um and memos from the uh state DLGF on in June of 2024. Because of this, I ask you to um reschedu this hearing until this is done. This also gives us enough time to understand the added debt Mr. Penrod will be speaking about later in
015this meeting. >> Jackson bus replacement. That's fine. We can do that. >> Okay. So, we're postponing all of them. We can still do the uh still do the form three or the budget. Yeah. Right. So, >> and you did post it you did post your budget on the gateway um on 828 but then >> as in full transparency you probably should have put it on your budget on your website too. Thank you. >> Okay. So, Dr. Penrod um the the 2026 budget. >> So on the 2026 budget you see here as mentioned this was on on gateway. Uh this middle part here just describes when the hearing is and when the uh when the adoption is uh both take place in this building at this address at 5:30. And then as we scroll down we
016get into the uh uh each in each individual fund. So we've got a 61 fund which is the rainy day fund. That budget estimate is 750,000. That's the same as it is this year, same as it's been for the last few years. Uh no intention of spending that, but we do ask that that get appropriated now. Uh in the case of emergency, then we wouldn't have to go through this process and ask for an additional appropriation uh during the uh during the calendar year. Um no uh no levy is associated with that. So you can see in column three there, the maximum estimated funds to be raised uh zero. Uh the current tax levy is zero obviously. uh that's funded as we discussed with uh transfers from other funds. So uh that takes care of
017the uh rainy day fund. On the debt service line we have a budget estimate of 17 million54,400 with the maximum estimated funds to be raised of 16,953051. The current tax levy is 136 13,632679. And I would mention there that the uh the there's a $3.5 million anticipated debt service payment. I'm sorry. Yeah, $3.5 million anticipated debt service payment to allow the school uh flexibility when after selling that to uh determine what the best payback is within those parameters. So, um so don't actually expect the levy to be that high. Uh last year we advertised it uh at high as well and then during the 1782 period after the state gets it, it drops back down because then by then we know what our what our payback schedule looks like on the education fund. The estimate
01821,73294. Uh again no estimated funds to be raised because that's uh that's supported through the state. So we don't have any tax levy there. So you can see the current tax levy is zero as well. And then on the operations side, we have 11,79,220. The maximum estimated funds to be raised at 8 million 604319. And if you scroll up just a little bit, please, you'll see the um you'll see the maximum uh the estimated school max operations levy there at 8 million 604319. And so those match. Uh if you look at the column five then down back down with the operations fund uh we see the current tax levy is uh 926. So a levy difference of four 4.01%. Uh the max levy the MA MLGQ the maximum levy growth quotient which we've talked about
019before is 4% this year. So why are we uh why do we have 4.01? Uh last year we we were a few dollars short of the actual max levy because if we would have gone uh if we would have gone for the full the full amount, we would have been over the f over the amount that we're allowed to get based on our tax rate. And so our our levy last year was slightly short. Uh this year it we're asking for the max. Again, it'll be slightly short because if we go out uh five digits on the decimal point instead of the four that the DGF goes out, it'll put us over. So that's why the 4.01 1 uh knowing that it'll it'll get capped at that 8,604319. Uh some some points of interest, the
020uh the uh rate for the past four years has been 0.5399. Uh our our goal is to uh has always been to keep it at in that as as a consistent tax rate. The um the some things that changed in the general assembly this year, Senate ruled act one in particular, uh may cause that to change. Uh it did cause or it will cause tax caps to change as well, meaning the loss of revenue to the school system. Last year it was estimated by the DGF we would lose 51,304. On that same sheet, this year it's 687,500, which is a 1,240% increase after the state budget a state LSA, which is legislative services agency, uh predicted we'd lose 14997. RAV is not out yet. um was due to be out in the in the beginning
021of August and um it's not out yet and so those tax caps could decrease that 6875 could decrease as far as the loss goes but right now that's the best information we have as far as what the state's telling us is a loss of $687,500. >> That's it. >> Yep. Okay. So, we'll need to um have another hearing then for the bus replacement and the capital projects. >> We can do that in October. It's still adopted in October. >> Yep. We'll get that taken care of. Um so, at this time, we would take uh comments on the 2026 budget hearings. >> Uh once AV is out, then we'll uh we'll be able to calculate a little better. But um state. >> Uh, it's the county and I can't remember which which office does it. I
022mean, the assessor is the one that assesses it, but I don't remember who actually releases it. Whether it's the auditor or the treasurer, I'm not sure. Somebody in in the county, though. >> No. I mean, the short answer is no. There's a map that the DOJ puts out to kind of say where everybody is, every county is in the process, but it doesn't have a date on there. Uh, correct. Yeah. So, right now it says the uh it says the ABS are balanced, but it's not moved to submitted or approved yet, but it doesn't have a date as far as when they would be, you know, when that would be available. >> We can call the county. >> I think they'll We can call. Okay. Any comments? >> Sorry, I didn't introduce myself last time.
023My name is Lisa Crow. I'm from Milford, Indiana. I'd like to know what our total debt obligation is today. Total I don't have memorized. >> Oh, it's over 200,000. 200 million. Sorry. It's over 200 million. We are the number one school in four counties, Elcart, Kaziasco, Marshall, and Noble that carries that much debt. that equals the nine lowest school debts combined. So, we've got nine schools that equal our debt. And I'd also like to know, is that $17,000 or $17 million payment uh for this year include the extra debt you'll be asking for? >> Yeah, that was the anticipated debt payment >> with everything. >> Yeah, it's advertised too high, but it does understand. Yeah. And how many debt obligations do we have to pay each year? And can you describe them as geo bonds
024versus um lease bond payments? There's there's 13 total that are still out there. I don't know if those expired, but that was on the GE um gateway website. So looks like eight eight first mortgage bonds andor refundings of first mortgage bonds and then five go bonds. Okay, >> thank you very much. again, Rob Chalk, Syracuse. Mr. Penrod, can you please let us know uh what the outstanding interest in payments alone that we make on a yearly basis for the debt that we've already have currently, just the interest payments? >> Uh I can give you the number. 6,492,411. So I think we need to work harder at eliminating debt instead of creating more. >> Any other comments? That is approximately um $80,000 per student. Any other comments? Okay, I need a motion to close the budget
025hearing. Is there a motion? >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> We have a motion and a second. All in favor signify by saying I. I. Opposed. Motion carries. At this time, I need a motion and a second to resume the regular meeting. Is there a motion to resume the regular meeting? >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> I have a motion and a second. All in favor? Signify by saying I. >> I. Opposed. Motion carries. This brings us to patron comments. Now, as a part of the meeting, we set aside for patron comments. We allow each patron to have three minutes to address the board president. We would ask that you stand in front of the board, state your name, and if you reside in the district, and then proceed with your
026comments. Comments will not include students, personnel, or otherwise privileged statements. If multiple patrons are here to speak on the same topic, I would ask that you choose a representative to voice your message. Patron comments. I've never done this. Nine years. WCA association president. I'm going to ask you. My husband can state. He lives with me, but I would like him to defer his minutes to me because I can't get this all in in three minutes. So I he he can speak or I can just read this. Are you okay with that? >> I Yeah, I think so. >> Okay. All right. >> Good evening. My name is Kim Jones and I live on East Wis Park Drive in North Webster. I am entering my 33rd year in public education. 27 of those years have been
027with WBC community schools. I'm also a proud parent of two children who graduated from this school system. Throughout the years, I've experienced both the highs and lows that naturally come with working in education. I've also been actively involved in our local association, serving as co-president for nine years. And in that time, I've spent countless hours advocating for our educators and collaborating with central office to find solutions to a variety of challenges. Speaking to you tonight is not something I take lightly. In the past, I've chosen not to address the board publicly because most concerns could be resolved internally. Unfortunately, we are not facing ongoing issues. We are now facing ongoing issues that have not improved despite repeated conversations, and I feel compelled to speak up. For the past four years, concerns have been raised about
028poor communication from the top down. Despite numerous discussions, we still do not have a consistent district-wide system to ensure that all staff receives clear, accurate information. For any school system operate effectively. There must be streamlined communication process from central office through the administration to every staff member. In addition, we lack clearly defined procedures, particularly around who is responsible for making specific decisions. Last May, I brought forward a student safety concern and asked what procedures should have been followed. I was told there wasn't a clear one. The lack of structure and communication delayed the response and ultimately created an unsafe environment for both students and staff. More recently, the same breakdown in communication has caused significant issues at Syracuse Elementary, which contributed to a veteran teacher's decision to leave the profession entirely. On August 28th, I
029brought several concerns to central office and requested a meeting with Dr. Troyer and Mrs. Wilong. I presented pre presented specific dates, times, and conversations that demonstrated how communication failures were creating an unsafe and chaotic work environment. I want to be clear, not afraid to speak up. I do my homework. I bring facts to the table. During the meeting, I told Dr. Troyer I didn't want to escalate the matter, but I might need to bring it before the school board. He responded that he didn't like being threatened. I reminded him I was not making a threat. I never have. I was simply asking to collaborate on a solution as we have done successfully in the past. However, conversations lately have not been two-way. When I emphasize again that communication remains a serious concern, he said, "Go
030ahead and do it. Talk to the school board." So, here I am tonight. Because I believe this issue deserves the board's attention. It is troubling to hear top administrators repeatedly say that we're unaware of specific problems in a district of our size, in a close-knit community like ours. How How is that even possible? When communication breaks down at the top, small issues grow unchecked until they become urgent. And at this point, we are reacting, not proactively solving. In the midst of this, I want to acknowledge the leadership of our assistant superintendent. She has emerged as a clear communicator and strong leader. She is proactively supporting our professional development, leading the roll out of new instructional materials, and constantly making herself available to staff. Her responsiveness and engagement has made PLC more meaningful and early in
031and early indicators show improving test scores under her guidance. Her leadership is making a real positive difference. I also want to express concerns about the roll out of the new Warrior Experience initiative. While I appreciate the intent creating a more welcoming and positive school culture, the execution has raised red flags. Without meaningful staff input from the beginning, it's no surprise the buyin is limited. Much of the initiative focuses on half staff presents themselves to the public. The reality is is that the vast majority of our staff already lead with professionalism, integrity, and kindness. If individuals fall short, that should be addressed directly by leadership, not through generalized training. For example, the materials emphasize that we create a warm, welcoming, and professional first impression in person, by phone, and online. Our tone, body language, signage, and
032environment all for reflects the warrior standard. These are admirable goals, but they must apply to everyone, including our leadership. I have personally witnessed and heard numerous accounts of dismissive and passive aggressive interactions by members of the leadership team. I've raised these concerns directly with Dr. Troyer. While I have specific examples, staff are reluctant to come forward. Many fear retaliation. The fear keeps people silent and what some write off as rumors are often rooted in real lived experiences that people don't feel safe sharing. It becomes difficult to justify investment in this initiative when the very behavior it promotes are not being modeled at the top. Culture change must begin from the inside out and it must be led by example, not just by training. Our teachers, paras, bus drivers, and support staff are exhausted. They are
033continually being asked to do more with fewer resources and it's becoming unsustainable. Meanwhile, they watch as top administrators receive financial rewards and additional support and PAR pay remains frozen. Teachers are told the district's financial outlook is poor. This creates a perception of inequity that is both disheartening and demoralizing. Let's be honest, the school system does not function without the people working directly with students every day. These individuals are the heart of policy and right now the heart feels undervalued and unheard. Our staff are speaking up. They are offering thoughtful practical solutions. But too often it feels like we're allowed to voice our concerns only to see decisions made without meaningful follow through. Central office moves forward. The board approves. But rarely is there deeper investigation into whether these decisions are truly in the best interest
034of our schools. We are not asking for perfection. We are asking for a partnership, for communication, and full respect. Thank you for your time tonight. These are real issues affecting the Wallace School Corporation. I share them with the full confidence there there will be no retaliation for fulfilling my duties as WCA co-president and advocating on behalf of our educators. I respectfully urge the board to independently investigate these concerns by speaking directly with staff and community members. Every story side and every perspective is shared by lived experiences. I'm almost finished. I promise. The board has a responsibility to seek out those diverse perspectives, not just accept information at face value. Listening to a wide range of voices will lead to better decisions and a stronger, more unified district. Finally, I believe the public would appreciate transparency
035around any findings that come from such an investigation. Transparency builds trust and right now the trust needs to be rebuilt. Um, [Applause] something was also brought to my attention today and it is going to involve the need for me to meet with all of you, but I can't meet with all of you legally at once. So, I'm going to need to have a meeting. Are you laughing? I know. Sorry. Well, because you have a quorum then we have to have an executive session. So, I can meet with two two and then one. But, um, it it it needs immediate attention. >> So, if we can meet tomorrow, so we can talk after the meeting and I'd like to thank you. >> Thank you. Do you have any of those? >> I didn't know. Is there
036any concerns that you have that you're willing to share now with us that you have? I mean, you listed a whole lot of things. I didn't know some I mean, we're here in a public meeting and you guys want to bring that up to us and I didn't know if there's >> a >> right. I mean, we sit up here. I I get it. But but we come and say that we have issues, you know, and I think we should hear of them, >> right? We have issues that somebody can tell us right now. I I just I just think that >> right. >> Yeah, I get it. And I feel like that you're coming from a teachers issue is what you're having. Rob, I don't know what you do for a living, but I
037don't know if you're a teacher that you're witnessing or you're feeling things directly, but I do feel like Kim's saying there is issue with teachers. So, that's what I feel like we need to hear about. >> Let's just set it up. >> Okay. Anyone else? >> Hi Kim Joyce um a parent of a Wy middle school child um according to Indiana Code 5 through 14 through 1.5 through 2.9 uh effective July 1st 2025. Um all of the um public meetings are supposed to be posted. Um so as a concerned parent who heard there were issues in last month's meeting uh When I went to go look for that meeting, it was not available on the website. The the August 2025 link, there's nothing there. Um, so I thought you should know that citizens and parents
038cannot view that right now as is. That' be a violation of the Indiana I didn't know. Is that true? live stream isn't linked on the web page. >> The live stream is available on our YouTube page. I I completely understand. I'm just saying it. The link is out there. The video is out there. It's not that we've taken it down. It's on our YouTube page. >> We will link it onto the web page. >> I'm done being able to respond. >> I'm done. What I don't like, me personally, I'm not speaking for my school board, is the insinuation that there's that I'm personally on board with hiding something. We're trying to do anything other than support our kids and our teachers and everybody else, including the cafeteria workers that aren't represented by any union or
039the people picking up the trash. The list goes on and on and on. recognition of any of the things that happened down at the state. We're never going to do anything if we don't stop acting like the rest of the world where all it is is attack mode and insinuation of corrupt intentions. So it ought the attack mode doesn't help. I'm hearing everything I'm concerned Hello. >> Hello. >> Um I'm Tim Shelley. I'm from the law firm of war combo. I represent school corporation some of these issues. This I would say this is not the most productive time to have these discussions and that there's been many misrepresentations about open meetings what's required when it's required. These are the type of discussions that should be happening with board members oneon one having concerns about employment
040about board meetings and posting that can be addressed in a public form like this is not I would encourage you to reach out to board members express your concern there's probably a policy where you can write down what that concern is so the school board and school corporation exactly what you're concerned I would encourage you to follow that process. Some of the things here today, I don't want to get an argument with anybody. They're just not right. They're just not. So, that being said, I guess I would encourage the school board as my client to move on to the rest of the agenda to get business done here this evening. Okay, I'll turn it over to >> Yeah, go ahead. No, if you got more, go ahead. >> Tyler Smith. I reside in Milford. I
041have two kids in prek and due to related topics, I'd like to give my time to Rob. Um, my name is Jaylen Smith. I reside in Milford. Um, I'm Tyler's wife. I have two kids as well. And I would like to give my three minutes to Rob Chalk. >> Well, we're we we we're not transferring minutes. Every if you want to speak on your behalf, you can do that. >> First, u board members, may I approach you because I under my under pretense of last meeting, somebody thought I was uh not not disposing truth, but I have truth I would like for you guys to review. >> Okay. >> All these have sources on them as well, where they came from, what it entails with copies. I won't discuss anything. I discussed it last last
042meeting. You guys can take that information and see and do with it as you will. I have other concerns. I'd like to start by saying this is my opinions, concerns, and the facts I present to this board and everybody in this room um are by no means personal attacks against anybody. The majority of you I know I like you. Um, with that being said, keep in mind you all chose a role that is funded by all of us and will be scrutinized and accountability on a level that will far exceed any private or corporate sector of business. My personal views, opinions, concerns, and facts are strictly based on business philosophy and your job performance. There are several issues I'd like to address. Allow me to start with the good news from the superintendent from last
043meeting. When giving you information, can we please be uh transparent? Uh, I appreciate the fact that you brought up that we gained 34 new employees, but I think we're leaving out the fact that we lost 41 to 43 according to Gateway, and that could be a statistic that's not accurate. I would and I would like to be enlighted on that. Um, and also within that, please explain that uh that these numbers include full-time, part-time, custodians, cafeteria, coaches, maintenance, paras, bus drivers, and more. Um, also, Mr. Mr. Troyer, can you please explain uh on your contract that has an asterisk on it that says C addendum um and there's no addendum attached this year. In prior years, there's been an attachment. For those that don't know, I'll share what that addendum has been in the past.
044Um there's some fluff in there and some stipens. We pay the superintendent of this corporation four different on four different retirements accounts. administration annuity, a 403b, a teachers retirement fund, and an INPRS, which is Indiana public retirement system that totals over 27,000 of his um posted contract. That's an 18.5% uh benefit. Um we also cover his health premiums. Let's be clear, teachers pay their own health insurance premiums and any additional retirement contribution over the 3% threshold um by the corporation. Uh board members, I've copied the Indiana Professional School Administration Code of Ethics from the IAPSS Indiana Association of Public School Superintendent website. I've highlighted for each board member areas of great concern not only for me but for my from many community members that should be reviewed and discussed by this board. I believe the
045code of ethics have been breached and the action and/or motions should be made regarding this matter. This will be this will continue to be addressed in much greater detail as time allows. Please keep in mind board members, you are 100% responsible for this superintendent that you contracted. I've not been another concern is I've not been able to locate any kind of flowchart a responsibility chart by any means on your website. It would be helpful and transparent if we could get one on the corporate website. It seems like we have an extreme lack of confusion on responsibilities and job roles. Here are a few examples based on wall corp websites or corporation website under each individual tab that must be opened from each department. Um this is a strong reason why a flowchart or an organizational
046chart would be extremely helpful without confusion. I'll start with a special services Jennifer Phillips director. She's a director but has two others and an administrative secretary. And by my understanding, we just add another one. Who's responsible for HR? What training and certifications are needed for this position? Is an HR coordinator being treated as an HR director? Who would employees go to for HR issues? Mr. Wireball's job description. Director of operations, director of food service, director of technology. Under that, you said you want to maintain a high standard. How can you maintain high standards of anything when the director of almost everything? It's extremely obvious what why nothing can get accomplished. According to gateway gateway and gov.com salaries, Mr. Wild already started at 2020 with the contract of 60,429. Your current new contract at 2526 now
047stands at $124,77.65. Simple math tells me this is 105.3% pay increase in 5 years. Please explain how and why this could happen. Mr. Pinrod, I'm sorry, sir, but I'm un unaware of how to address your position. As of 2023, you were an interm CFO with no finance degree. Let me repeat that again. No finance degree. I'm left to assume the interm tag still applies. I have a huge concern regarding positions and the conflict of interest you have to carry out the responsibility it requires. In a YouTube short video posted from February 25, you stated that you currently work full-time with four or five schools and possibly representing 12 to 15. You weren't sure. There's no possible way you can keep four or five school district budgets and tax rates straight. You have one listed one
048listed entity with the nine sublets through the Secretary of State. I like to know why. I like to know what how and what or I'm sorry what and how much we are paying you in total. Every time money moves, you get paid. It's no wonder you want to test a levy and move money around increase debt bonds. You truly have a dream situation with every district you entertain. Superintendent role has nothing listed as responsibilities with many of the roles taken. What is the role of the superintendent here? I have many more questions regarding roles responsibilities. Tom Low will continue to address them. This is my biggest concern. Student safety as I do have a kid in Syracuse Elementary. We have Mr. Parrot getting a stipen for the role. Well qualified, been in the role for
049several years and has done a great job. Our resource officer, Mr. Leech, has had extensive training and experience regarding this. But we have director of communication running safety. I don't know. That's just what's tabbed. Please explain who's in charge of safety for our children. Do we have a protocol for worst case scenarios? If so, who wrote it? If there was a crisis, how can this same person cover both safety role and communication role at the in real time? I'm really confused on why the director of communication has anything to do with the safety of my child. Please allow the well-trained qualified injury to do do their jobs. It seems the director of curriculum wears many hat I'm sorry, the director of communication wears many hats within a district. I wish we had time for her
050to uh share what happened on August 28th that led to the excused uh her being excused from the building and immediate resignation of a teacher that we much needed. Um speaking of director of community, let's dig into a little more issues in this role that allows this allow dictation of what students attend Wall City. Another concerning matter regarding the director of communation, she was assistant on putting her stamp on some sort of change rebranding. This was talked about in an article entitled how rural Indiana school district rewrote its narrative through strategic communication storytelling. She was insistent on rebranding and accomplish this by simple one color change across everything from high school to elementary schools. Walsie is already experiencing massive budget issues. Why would anyone take want to take a project on this magnitude at at
051a time like this? Currently, our football field, all of our gymnasiums, all of our uniforms, and many more things do not fit the criteria. One last reference. I'm not going to keep talking about that. One last reference. Upon reviewing Indiana Title 20 and five, any contract can be terminated for dereliction of duty. I would highly recommend this board investigate what this means and how it relates to current issues that are being exposed through board meetings, through emails, and through all other communications. There'll be three of you that are up for election next year. Um, all three of the townships represented will be up for election. I'd like to remind you again, the community is starting to speak. You're just hearing a little. Some, if not many, are still hesitant to speak out of fear and
052retaliation. And that is a real thing in this community. I personally have no problem being a voice until the fear fear and hesitation is removed because I personally don't fear retaliation against any of against me. You have an opportunity to make a difference. It's all up to you five to listen and to act. It is in your best interest to be proactive, not reactive. I'll end with that. Do you have that said a lot? Do you have Can you email that? >> I'd like to know. I'd like I'd like to have what you said. >> I mean, it was fast. I'd like you have that emailable. >> Uh so I can read. >> I do. I do. There are some things I left out because uh you know time I don't I appreciate you allowing
053me even to speak that much time. That's that's strong >> and I I'm I I have some hearing issues. So I would like to see that as well because I can't I I'm not >> I'm not being I mean totally >> No, I respect that. I thank you for that. >> I'd like to I mean the thing is I'm from this community. I've been I've been here since the mid 80s. This is my community and it's and it's not it's it's not correct. Mr. Wilkart, you've been here for how long? You were a teacher, correct? >> Yes. 40 years. I mean this is when has it been like this? >> When has it been like this? >> Been like what? >> Have you voiced any concerns to any board members before the meeting last week
054or last month? >> Last month. >> Yeah. >> Have you said have you sent an email, phone call? No. Contacted any board members? No. To let us know about the frustrations that you have other than the meeting last month? >> No, Mr. Feller, have not. And I'll tell you why. because of because of the fact that's been brought up amongst all these people here um the retaliation. So now I'm free to meet with any of you now >> because I wanted it to be stamped here with the support that's behind and you got to understand this is just a little bit there's too many people I feel scared >> I understand but if we don't know what's going on it's a little difficult for us to get ambushed at something like this we have no
055idea what is going on your frustration you have never contacted any of us >> uh there again if you can't see what's going on then maybe you're not doing your job >> I mean you you obviously It's in your hands. >> That's a misrepresentation. That's not right. There's not all. >> So, you don't know there's a budget issue. Is that correct? You put your name on it, Mr. Craig. >> We have an AV that we don't have yet. Of course, there's a budget issue. It >> There's been a budget issue for how long? >> The budget issue is something different from capital expenses. You're right. The $200 million. I've been freaked out about that number since I got on the board. >> It hasn't been $200 million the whole time. We're gaining over $6.5 million
056a year because you got to understand how the funds work. It's every six months. Every six months we add over three and a half >> two new projects. >> I can explain it. >> I get it. You know, I don't need to get explained. I get it. >> Well, there is some things. But anyway, I'd like you to email that to me. I'm not going to fight with you in front of everybody right here, but I would like you to email that to me because you said a lot of good stuff and it was fast and I want to be able to read and digest it. If you want this board member, I need I need the info in a way that is I I can't take notes. >> I'll give I'll give you all
057the info. That's the great thing is it's live stream so we can read watch it 5,000 times. I will get it to you. >> Just be easier for me. >> No, thousand% agree and I appreciate it. >> So, I'm sincere. I would like you to know. >> Yeah. And I would gladly meet with any of you. >> Um, you know, and share things that are real. >> I mean, but my concern is >> again, is it deaf ears? >> It's not deaf ears. It needs to be communication. >> But you've heard it. >> That's not true. You've heard it. >> Don't Don't impug that. I'm not doing that to you. Okay. Anybody else? >> Hi again. I'm Alex from Syracuse. Oh, Alex Wild from Syracuse. Um, so I own Wild Thing Tax. Um, I feel
058like some of you probably know that. So, I'm a CPA. Um, and I really love for numbers to make sense. Um, and when they don't, because when budgets are presented, they're done so in a way that are not digestible to lay people, not financial people like you and I. So, at the budget hearing, it would be awesome if we could actually have like numbers that are digestible in a format that people can understand so that they actually know what's going on with our budget. So, that's a good place to start. Um, I think we've already talked about the debt. That was insane. Um, and Mr. Penrod, your eight or so subs that you have for under your LLC's, how many of those are are we paying to? How many contracts do we have with your
059various subs? I would love to see all of the contracts between the district and any one of the following. K12 finance lab, K12 debt lab, K12 facilities lab, K12 CTE lab, K12 referendum lab, K12 operations lab, K12 curriculum lab, K12 assessment lab, K12 business solutions. These are all your entities. Are you charging our district under these various entities? No. Which one is it? KP finance is the only one that we pay under. What is the purpose of the debt lab? I don't I mean I'm a that's a private business. I don't know that I need to answer that. I >> It's a sub of comprehensive systems of support for schools. So if I see your contracts, is it going to be comprehensive systems on it or is it going to be K12 finance? >> It's
060comprehensive systems is what the contract is. >> Okay. But the DBA that that we pay under is K12 finance. I would love to see those contracts. >> Um one more thing. So again, numbers. Um we've talked about um Mr. Troyer's salary. What's posted on um what is it? The website is 190 something. You start your salary at 143. Okay. And then you have 20some,000 going into your retirement. So we are putting $20,000 into your retirement. We also pay every month $700 for your car. Do you have a nice car? We also pay for your cell phone. I don't understand why you don't have a schoolisssued cell phone. I don't understand why we need to pay for your car to drive back and forth from work to home. This is not okay. Excuse me. Um, I'm
061gonna stop on that part right there because I I somebody can probably correct me if they almost every superintendent has a car stipen. Some corporations actually provide a car. He is not simply driving from home to work. There are meetings throughout the state. He is oftentimes at multiple buildings throughout the same day. So it it is not just home from school. If it was home from school, you think the school board would actually be doing that? No. There are a lot of other transportation things that are going on with the superintendent's car. >> So, the director of transportation, um, Jason Whirl, he doesn't have a stipend, and he's the director of transportation. He gets to use one of the school vehicles for all of his running around town. >> Okay. Um, let me see here.
062You get a bonus. How do you get a bonus as a superintendent? and you guys get to approve it. What do you do to approve him to get thousands more dollars a year? Where's the ROI? Return on investment. When you break down how many working days there are in a year, you make $735 per day. Per student, you cost us $78 per day. Where's the ROI? That's all. >> Anybody else? >> Okay, we'll move on to our next agenda item. Dr. Troyer. Okay. Um, like to highlight a few items of significance for the board. Uh, thank you to the Wawy Alumni Association for once again making it possible for our high school students to receive all sports passes at no cost to the student. This is a great way for our students to attend athletic
063events and support our sports teams. WC Early Learning Center received a $900 grant from Casiasco Chamber of Commerce Foundation Launchpad. This money will be used for learning supplies for our three infant toddler rooms and three prek rooms. Cash Walter was named the Goan News player of the week. Cash is a freshman and plays football for the Warriors. Edge of Staff has chosen Lorie Smith as the Indiana substitute teacher of the year. Edge of Staff is our substitute management company and Lori is a Wawasi Community Schools substitute teacher. Congratulations to Lori Blair Bumgardner, edge staff, Indiana District Manager, and Lori Smith are with us tonight. Blair and Lori, if you want to come up and present that. [Applause] >> All right, I'll be here. We just want to take a fantastic job. She really love her.
064And um so basically her colleagues and staff leadership decided she's very comments from some of the staff regarding Lorie. She's a constant professional who connects well students in a meaningful way. She goes above and beyond excitement to the class. She adores the kids and the kids adore her. Um she's both interesting and interested. It's always a great day when the building's been substant sales and marketing customer service and management. Um she loves the children at the school and they best part about being a substitute teacher. Her best advice to a new substitute teacher would be to trust the students. The kids can help you be firm but loving and don't think nonsense when she loves when she's not teaching. She loves family and true stories. Thank you for making a difference in the lives of
065students school. [Applause] All right. Donations were received from the following people and organizations and businesses. WC Athletics received $5,000 in sponsorships from Transport US, Titus Funeral Home, Pets King Drainage Solutions, Topping Dental Group, and Blue Barn Farmhouse Kitchen. Wallace Alumni Association donated $3,000 to WC athletics to purchase a basketball shooting machine and $15,000 for green and gold sports passes for Walc High School students. WC Robotics received $625 in donations from Wallace Plumbing, Marley Erlin Wine, and Ritter Electric. Next Generation Mechanicals and Anderson Earthworks both donated $250 each to become WAC band sponsors. WC Cross Country received $4,500 in donations for course improvements and sponsorships from Eric and Amy Stie, Revive Hair Design, Gingeridge Enterprise, Jared Wartzell, Linda Hoffer, Susan Fraer, Gordon and Anna Allen, JAA Investments, and Wawy Alumni Association. The Knights Columbus 6323 donated
066$700 to Waly High School girls golf and $3,000 $3,50 to Waly cheerleading. And finally, WC FFA received a $500 donation from Tom Farms, Mr. Bogart. >> Okay, any questions? Then I need a motion to approve the items as presented by Dr. Troy. >> Is there a second? >> I second. I have a motion and a second. All in favor signify by saying I. >> I opposed. Motion carries. Moving on to the report section. First up for our reports, we have Dr. Wilfong with her learning report. >> Uh thank you very much, Mr. Bookart. Uh this this evening's uh board learning report is going to be relatively short. Um we have some uh exciting things going on um throughout the district. Uh, one of them is that our uh, new ELA curriculum, CKLA, is um, off
067and running and we just started the first of three days of our grade level meetings. So, we had um kindergarten teachers this morning and first grade teachers this afternoon uh to get together and plan and um talk about what's gone well, what hasn't gone well. And um and I I couldn't have asked for a better start to that. Um tomorrow morning, uh we have uh second grade and then third grade in the afternoon and then fourth and fifth on Thursday. Uh also going on um starting last Wednesday and um continuing for the next four Wednesdays is uh hands training and that is um a really powerful training for specifically for uh paraprofessionals and special education teachers who uh have to deal with uh students with uh very difficult behaviors and um how to um um
068h how to just um change their behavior in a positive way. Um and um I do know um that uh it's it's been around Jen how for how long? >> About 15 years. So it's uh it's a pretty powerful thing. Uh typically the hands training is done in Indianapolis or Bloomington and it's a fiveday intensive training in the summer. So, Mrs. Phillips was able to get uh the uh facilitator to come up here and I believe there's at least three uh corporations that are bringing um personnel to to those trainings. So, uh we were really excited to be able to um facilitate that with uh with uh Mrs. Phillips um planning um and coordination. So, that's uh pretty cool. And then uh coming up on September 22nd is our first professional learning day. Uh all
069of our uh buildings are planning uh various uh learning uh professional learning day activities uh for our staff and um both classified and certified. So every um every group from uh custodians to um bus drivers to cafeteria, teachers, paras uh will be involved in a day of learning uh various things that um specifically um are targeting their um their day-to-day um uh responsibilities. So that is my board learning report for this evening. >> Okay. >> Any questions? >> I don't believe so. >> Thank you, >> Dr. Troyer. It's on to you for your superintendence report. >> Thank you. [Music] There we go. Okay. So, um the last couple of months there's been a number of questions uh asked and uh things posed during public comment uh period and I wanted to address some of that.
070Um whether based on some of the uh comments tonight whether you want to engage in this dialogue I don't know but um I would definitely welcome further conversation. Um the introduction and purpose uh for this really is to um respond to some of the things that have been brought up. I I I think echo what Mr. Krip or or somebody said here that when you have time to prepare your public comments and we're hearing them for the first time, it's difficult to respond in the moment, especially not being able to have uh all of the information that we'd like to put together. Um, and so, uh, it may be that I touch on a couple things from this evening, but, um, we may, uh, also wait on a few of those items till next month
071as well. But I'm going to try and, uh, spend a little bit of time, um, providing some uh, education or general information so that hopefully you better understand um, some of the topics that were brought up. And then um I hope that through that process uh that will also then allow me to address some of the uh questions and concerns that were uh brought up last month as well. So um Mr. Shelley uh alluded to this a little bit, but immediate debate in meetings, especially in these particular regular board meetings, which are uh quite often just viewed as a business meeting, can often turn unproductive. And that's not to say that the conversation isn't important or that some of the things that have been brought up, all the things that have been brought up, aren't
072worth bringing up. it just bogs down this particular meeting. Um and so we'll talk about this here towards the end, but at some point if we want to look at scheduling another meeting um whether that is uh a scheduled work session in which the board members can all be there or um not a work session in which um we host that at the administrative level of the school. Um, I would certainly be willing to do that and uh would welcome engaging in a dialogue not behind uh closed doors Mr. Chalk suggested last month but out in the open uh and in front of uh anybody that wants to be there. So what we're going to cover u some enrollment trends and revenue realities. I think this is really important to understand the lens through which
073the other things then are uh discussed. We're going to look at staffing and FTE reductions. Um where we have had operational savings. Um what have been the reasons for some of our compensation decisions, board governance and superintendent evaluation. I want to touch a little bit on executive sessions and transparency with decision making and then finally communications and marketing. So in order for us to talk about some of the other issues which a lot of the conversation that has been talked about over the last two months uh really over the last month but two board meetings um is a byproduct of where our enrollment is right now at WC schools. um this spring, I think it was in March, started uh a tour of our five buildings and went around um to present to the staff
074um some of this information and data knowing that we had some things coming that were going to impact not only staffing but also our uh specifically our education fund revenue. And then um through that time period as well with the legislative session there were changes uh legislatively um that ultimately impact our operations fund revenue more than anything. Uh and so we want to talk a little bit about that. But um this is our overall trend. This is through last October which our count day uh which is the um point in time in which we uh count the number of students that we have for funding purposes. Count days uh occur on October 1st. So this is from last fall. Obviously we have not reached our fall count day yet. Um but we did um have
075a spring data point. I think February 1 is the spring count. Um, so two years ago, fall 23, we were at 2,683 students. Last fall, uh, 2567 students and then we dropped another 30 for the spring at 2537. Right now, we're projecting our uh, fall 25 enrollment. Um it's you say why why is that even a problem? Why can't you just tell us how many students are enrolled? The problem is we have students that are in our student management system that have conflicts with other school districts and so we don't know whether they uh until those conflicts are resolved belong to us or belong to the other school district. And so we have to go through a conflict resolution process which takes a little bit of time. Um but I think the skyward number was
0762530 something 2540. Okay. And then um we had a number also of uh students that were potentially involved in conflicts and that was 24 something. Uh so right now we're planning on we're hopeful that we'll be uh somewhere around the 2530ish mark. Um and that would be a a nice turnaround considering the fact that we lost so many students a year ago. One of the things that I try and talk about when I talk about enrollment um is the fact that I think there are a number of factors to why students why our enrollments dropping. Uh it definitely involves a number of different things. Sure, we have to acknowledge that there's students who are at Wallace choose to leave Wally and go somewhere else. I don't think that's the number one issue. I think the
077number one issue is our changing demographics in this community. That can be seen when you look at the large classes that are in the high school and the small kindergarten classes that are coming in as elementary students. This can best be seen last year when we graduated 225 students in the senior class and we brought in 173 students in the kindergarten class and not one student left. So that discrepancy right there didn't involve anybody else leaving. Also didn't involve anybody else coming. Um when you have those big classes that are leaving and you're bringing in smaller classes then that obviously presents challenges. Um I actually just read an article today uh that WC is not experiencing this alone. In fact, many many districts, the large majority of districts in the state of Indiana are uh
078in that declining enrollment space. Pretty much the the areas around your suburban uh your suburban centers around urban uh spaces are the ones that are growing. So, the donut around Indianapolis, the donut around Fort Wayne, uh potentially some things up in the region. Um but a lot of rural districts like WY are declining in enrollment. That impacts our funding. Okay. Um here's some enrollment trends for other schools around us. You see, and I I typically don't like to um talk about other districts in our board meetings, but I think it's appropriate for uh just having a conversation about this. Um these are the trend lines for uh not only us but Wani, Fairfield, Witco, West Noble, Tippy Valley, all of them except for Fairfield are declining in enrollment over time. This is 2013 through 2025.
079So that does have uh data through this year. um some more significantly declining than others, but you can see reasonably similar patterns across the spectrum there. Why does enrollment matter? Um one of the things that we talk about with school finance is the different funds that are out there. There's three primary funds, the education fund, the operations fund, and the debt service fund. Operations and debt service are funded through local property taxes. Um, we're not going to necessarily get into that a ton this evening during this presentation. Um, but enrollment significantly impacts and drives the education fund because uh the education fund is funded via the state funding formula which is almost exclusively based on enrollment. So you take the number of students that you have, you enter it into the funding formula and it
080spits out the amount of revenue that you generate. And that primarily is the bucket that's used to pay our uh classroom and our building instruction people. So, our teachers, uh, some of our pair professionals, not all, are building level administrators, um, and some of the support staff that that, um, supports the education happening in the classroom. So, some revenue realities for us. This is these are last year's numbers. This is not um updated with the new funding formula that was just passed in this last legislative session. So last year um each student um generated $7,134 of revenue into the education fund as part of what we call basic tuition support. Um that that is how much they generate via the state funding formula. In 2324 that generated 18.8 8 million because of the significant loss
081of students last school year that generated $18.2 million. So we had a loss of about 600,000 there. And then what are we projecting the 2526 revenue to be? 17 something. And I say 17 something not to be ambiguous. Um but we don't know what our ADM is. ADM stands for average daily membership. That is our count, our student count in which we're funded on. So, it's going to be 17 million something. But we do know one thing and that's that we've lost 146 students over the last three years. And that equates to approximately a million42,000 less revenue that goes into our education fund than what we had a few years ago. The human impact. We know that cuts are not easy and I think part of this conversation has stemmed around um cuts to current
082staffing and also raises or uh lack of raises or status quo contracts that have been held until we have a better idea of what our funding is going to be. Okay, I want to reiterate that schools don't choose our revenue. We don't choose how we are funded. We simply have to work within the funding formula that we're given. Now, there are some miscellaneous revenue opportunities for us and we have a few of those. Um, but for the most part, our education fund especially is driven by our enrollment. Now, you could argue, and I think it's a decent argument worth having, that schools can influence um the the enrollment and the students that are brought into the district. Um but outside of that, there's not really a way that we can increase revenue. We can't, for
083example, say, "Hey, uh, we're, um, we're Peacock streaming service and we're going to raise your rates, uh, two bucks," or whatever it is that like they just did that here uh, a week or two ago, I think. Um, you know, so we can't choose to say, "Hey, we're going to charge more and so that will generate more revenue." We have to get more students. Um and so we really the choice is how we responsibly manage the um revenue that we get. So cuts create understandable frustration. We completely get that. It also creates a lot of anxiety and worry. Uh and we went through a lot of that this past spring as we were looking at how do we reduce our expenditures uh in this case on the education side um to keep those things in
084line with our enrollment changes. Reductions are not about who is more or less important. They are about aligning the roles to our student enrollment, our operational necessities and our long-term sustainability. uh teaching and classroom roles need to be adjusted to align with enrollment and uh as part of that conversation then we have to look at class sizes and our administrative roles uh are not exempt from this cuts are uh cuts do happen eliminated positions uh which we'll talk about a few of those here in a minute um and reorganization u happens um that leads to cost savings uh as well as salary salary savings when possible when we u make a change in administrator um and perhaps bring somebody in at a lower cost than um what the previous person was making. So here's the
085bottom line. We have to align our staff to our enrollment. In 2016 we had 3,165 students at Wallace. In 2025, in the spring, that spring count, February 1st, our count was 2537. That was an approximate change of 20%. Now, we can sit here and debate why that is the case. Okay, I would say that um of the people sitting in this room, I don't know that anybody here was in their position, board or admin, in 2016. Maybe I'm wrong about that. Um, but fast forward to 2025, this is the reality regardless of how we got there. Okay? And how we got there, again, we can talk about that and discuss the reasons, but that's not important at this point. What's important is this is what we're facing. So we had a reduction of about 20%
086of our students. Over that same time, our certified staff fell by 10. We went from 214 staff to 24 staff. It was a drop of about 5%. This also includes our administrators. So it's teachers, any certified staff, teachers and administrators lumped together 214 versus 204 about a 5% loss. We have to align our staff to our enrollment and that is ultimately one way that we can provide the board can provide fiscal responsibility. If we're not doing that then we're in the position we're in where we are spending more money than we are bringing in and that's the situation uh that we are in right now. So, some details about reductions. We had a big reduction process that we worked through, especially the second half of last school year. Uh, we estimate $829,000 in education fund
087net savings to be realized in 2026. And why do I say realized in 2026? part of that $829,000 are or is retirements uh that we are anticipating happening in the first half of this school year. So those will not those are not completely off the books so to speak yet uh but we anticipate them coming in the first half of the school year uh to be realized in 26. We had through that process only two uh contract cancellations due to a reduction in force. And those of you who have been attending board meetings uh for the last few months uh you would be aware of those. Um, but our team was pretty um proud of the way that we were able to eliminate uh and and garner 800 over $800,000 in savings and only two
088teachers uh lost their jobs through that process. Other reductions came through retirements, reassignments or restructuring. Uh so for example, one of the things that we did, we realized that we had an extra science teacher at the high school. We also had a science teacher retire at the middle school. So instead of that science teacher at the high school being rifted, uh that's when we can a contract due to a reduction in force. Then we moved that high school teacher down to the middle school and we were able to save a job for that person. Some operation uh reductions also occurred during this time. Um we estimate $345,000 in operation fund savings for 2026. We did reorganize as has been talked about in a couple different board meetings uh through some personnel uh changes and that
089resulted in $215,000 worth of savings. We did eliminate three positions through that process. uh we consolidated some things in leadership and we streamlined some roles to create savings with what we hope to be uh without a reduction in essential services. We did have a uh we did have and are going to continue to look at cost reduction of operation fund expenses uh of an addition an additional 129,000. Uh, an example of this would be eliminating technology subscriptions such as Edgeclimber from our operations fund um and um not continuing to pay for that. So that was part of that 129,000. So 345,000 on the operations side. Again um we feel good about that administrative and non-eing impact. Um there's been some conversation about Dr. Penrod and his role at Wawasi schools, which I'll talk about here
090a little bit more in just a second, but we did eliminate our full-time CFO position in 2022. This uh causes an annual savings of $150,000 plus. I didn't look up the exact amount. I can get you that if that's something that you would like. Uh but it was north of $150,000 to our operations fund. We eliminated one assistant principal in 23 and then in 25 we eliminated a student service coordinator, a guidance counselor, an EL coordinator, the food services assistant and and we moved an instructional coach out of the education fund into a grant fund. Uh we were going to eliminate that instructional coach position. Um but we were able to secure funding through a grant for Dr. Wilong three years, two years Okay, that was at the middle school. Um and and again I
091had um talked earlier about reductions in salary when possible for administrative replacements. Um we hired a couple new administrators um over the summer and when possible we have um reduced salaries in those situations. Um, these savings have allowed for some investment into essential roles, what I deem to be essential, uh, like communications and marketing. Um, I want to talk just a minute about Dr. Penrod, uh, because I think there's maybe rightfully so some unknowns about what he does and brings to the table. Um, we found oursel in a position in 2022 where we needed some help on the school business side of things. Um, I met with Dr. Penrod. We brought him on as an interim uh CFO at the time. Um and essentially he is here two days a week uh in person in
092the district uh and um does our budget, does our uh bond work, does uh some management with our projects and other miscellaneous um finance related things kind some some of them day-to-day, some of them more big picture. Uh we through that process um pay him um through our bonds because he does represent our bonds as an owner's rep and uh that allows us to have zero impact in our operations fund on that side of things. Um, in my opinion, he has been a real blessing for Wawa, uh, and brought a degree of professionalism and insight into school business, uh, at our district, which we severely needed. Um, and I truly believe he's an expert in the field. um and one that many many districts are envious of that we are able to have him and
093they are not and I don't want to go too far out on a limb but I would say if he left Wawasi he would be scooped up by another district before he got to the car in his parking lot compensation decision. So why did why are why are we status quo? Um obviously we've got this declining enrollment trend. We've we have a reduction in revenue. We don't feel that it's uh fiscally responsible to go allin on additional uh expenditure commitments related to salary and benefits until we have a very clear understanding of what our revenue is going to be. That very clear understanding is not going to occur until at least October 1st on count day. Okay. We also have our teacher bargaining window that is set to open up here in just a couple
094days and that will occur uh through November 15th. Obviously, I just referenced count day and the legislative changes through Senate rolled act one um that impact uh our operations fund. I strongly believe that this is a responsible approach and we decided that status quo was what we needed to do until funding was certain. Now, this is not the first time in all of history that we at Wallace schools or other school corporations have gone with status quo contracts. Um, typically that's the process. So, this is not a new thing. It's not a new thing here. Last year, we had a two-year contract. It was the second year of a two-year contract. So, everybody got their adjustments in salary based upon the collective bargaining agreement that had been approved the year prior to that. So, it
095didn't take any negotiation to arrive at that point. Uh but typically teachers for sure and administrators will start out on a status quo contract until the teacher uh contract is bargained and set and then the other decisions will be made regarding pay. The one thing that has been uh that has not followed that path is that here typically uh our non-certified employees have received a 10 cent per hour wage adjustment up with each passing year that they're here at WC. That's what we call our long longevity increase. Um a couple years ago we raised that to point or to 25 cents an hour. Uh so we increased that pretty significantly. Um, and so our non-certified employees uh typically would receive that hourly adjustment and then based on the teacher uh contract and the available money
096that's there, we would make any adjustments accordingly. Um, we decided that this year we needed to just remain status quo with everybody. Um, not because we don't want to give that longevity increase, but because we need to have a very clear understanding. We know what the longevity increase is going to cost, but we need to know what revenue we're dealing with before we make that commitment because once you make the commitment to the base salary, then that commitment is there forever. Um, and so we felt like we have to be responsible uh in terms of adding um permanent salary increases when we don't know what our revenue is going to be. our compensation realities. We are status quo for all employee groups, teachers, non-certified staff, and admin. Uh there were no longevity step increases yet.
097We hopefully will be able to do those. Um and uh anything that any as with any salary adjustments, any salary adjustments that we make, let's say in October, November, December, whenever those get finalized, they will be retroactive to the beginning of the year. So if we do in fact do a 25 cent an hour raise for our non-certified staff, that will be retro back to the beginning of uh July 1st for our year- round employees and beginning of school for our school year employees. The only contract changes uh that have happened have been tied to uh positions that have been reorganized or restructured and there are new responsibilities as part of that restructuring. Okay. Mr. Wireb's contract as talked about in the comments is an example of that. Um we did add uh significant responsibility
098uh to the areas that he is overseeing. Um And then as well um I did not accept the contractual raise uh for my contract this year either. So I want to take a minute and talk about the board and superintendent roles. Okay. I think it's important to understand the board of trustees really is in charge of governance and oversight. They help establish policy or they they do establish policy through approval. They ensure fiscal oversight and responsibility and they hire and evaluate the superintendent in addition to some other kind of month-to-month responsibilities of the board member. Those are the big ones in addition to maybe vision casting um vision and mission for the district. Superintendent uh is really in charge of the day-to-day management and leadership of the district. We I execute the policy or figure
099out how we are going to execute policy that the board puts in place. We manage the day-to-day uh staff and operations of the district and I report directly to the board. Superintendent evaluation does happen every year. This happens in executive session. Uh this is the same process as all staff evaluations. I heard um someone propose why don't you have these evaluations occur in a public meeting. We don't do that with any evaluations for any of our positions. Um that's a process that uh the board and myself and previous superintendents forever uh have chosen to do. This occurred this year on June 26th, 2025. You can see if you look at our board minutes and board meetings, this was a special session on that date. Um, and uh had the code of employee evaluation. So that
100happened then and then I had a follow-up meeting with uh Mr. Bokart, Mr. Kripe on that Friday, the next day. We do use the NEI school board association rubric. It has six standards. Human capital manager, instructional leadership, professional behavior, building relationships, culture of achievement, organizational and operation, organizational, operational and resource management. Uh identifies areas for growth and professional goals uh are developed and that's a process that we work through every year. So I that has happened every year since I've been superintendent. Uh initially we started that uh to occur in the middle of the year because I was hired in January. Uh a couple years ago we shifted that to occur over the summer. Executive sessions, they are allowed by this Indiana code. Uh and you can in executive session um discuss personnel matters, litigation
101strategy training with an outside consultant, collective bargaining, school safety, security. There's other things that are allowed in the code. Um, essentially executive sessions allow for us to talk about sensitive issues and they allow for uh professional development for the board. Um, but all decision making is happening in public. Um, an example of I think it was Mrs. Croll that brought up why why is training with an outside consultant um typically on our executive session list. Dr. Penrod is an outside consultant in finance matters. I'll give you a perfect example. At the August board meeting, uh Dr. Penrod came in. Mr. Fowler is a new board member in January and Dr. Penrod led some training with the entire board, but specifically uh for Mr. Fowler on the process of the budget and uh the process that
102board members go through, what are the steps etc. uh to do that kind of work. Um and then one of the things uh well sorry I skipped one there. Um typically our executive sessions are held once a month before regular board meetings. Um occasionally we will have an additional session. Uh one of them is always for superintendent evaluation. One of the uh some of them occasionally will be uh again working with an outside consultant. Um those of you who remember Dr. Hock from a couple years ago, he did our climate audit. We've been working with Dr. Hock to get a date on the schedule for this fall to come in and do some board training with us. So that'll that will occur in exe in an executive session. Um but typically our regular executive sessions
103are held once a month. And I if you think about the size of our organization and the amount of employees, we have 450 employees. We have 2500 plus students. There are things that come up every month within that size of an organization that feed that fit these legal codes that we have to talk about with the board. That just happens. That's a reality of me uh trying to keep our board informed of the issues that we're dealing with and facing. And that's what we use our executive sessions for. 12 meetings a year to discuss those things doesn't seem like a um outrageous um thing in my mind. You may think different, but it does not seem outrageous to me. All right. Finally, communications and marketing. What's the role? Um there's been a lot of conversation
104about salary. So I do want to um talk about that. This position was originally hired at 67,000 on a 210day contract. Current base salary is 79,500. The admin benefits have not changed since the beginning. So um the position does receive an insurance stipen, car stipen, a cell phone stipen, and an annuity. Um, by the way, that's our except for the car stipen. Um, the car stipen happens at the district level. Um, and the other insurance stipen, cell phone, annuity. Um, those are admin benefits that all of our school administrators get. Um, the daily rate for that position is $361 a day. By the way, that did go up to a 220-day contract instead of 210. Um, to put that in perspective, the top of the scale teacher daily rates $44. I know that that may
105not equate in some people's mind, but there is a discrepancy there. So, or a difference, I should say. Um, our director is a licensed teacher with a bachelor's degree in public relations with experience in both. That was definitely one of the things uh that was um a significant piece of uh qualifications for the position. Um she as well is on a status quo contract this year. Um and that position is funded entirely from operations fund. The reason why I say that because that has zero impact on teacher or par pay. Um and you could say well yeah but you transfer money. I'm going to talk about that here in just a minute. If we didn't have that position, then we wouldn't have to transfer money. Um there's that's just not true. We we would still
106transfer money um between education operations funds. So, communications and marketing in my mind um and really in our uh we did a community engagement process here a couple years ago. This was identified as a as a critical need for the district. uh and I believe it's an essential role in 2025. Um if not all the districts surrounding us uh nearly every district that surround us has someone in some capacity doing communications and marketing and that uh position is paid anywhere from um probably 40 to $50,000 up to $110,000 plus. Um and uh the size of the school doesn't necessarily dictate the amount of pay for that position. Um I would contend that uh the person that is highest paid around us in that position is um at the smallest school. So um we we believe
107strongly that it's critical to telling our story and there is a strategic focus on communication, community engagement, image branding, enrollment, growth, media management and digital engagement. Um the question is has it helped th this is just one aspect of the communications and marketing uh plan and and one data point but we look at students that we have into the district. I think that there's some correlation. Now is it a 100% correlation that all of these students can be attributed to that position? No, I'm sure not. U but I think that there is some relationship there. So, our kindergarten number kindergarten numbers are up uh last year. Um eight students uh we had we have 12 kindergarten students that are out of district. We have a total of 29 students that are out of district that
108are new to Wawa. This isn't our total number of out of district students. This is our total that are out of district that are here this year that were not here last year. That's a big deal. uh we have 266 total new to WACI students with 120 of them uh being in 1 through 12th grade. So there's going to be certainly a number of them that are moveins to our district. They didn't live here and now they live here so they go to school here. I would also um speculate that there are some that lived here previously and now attend Wallace uh schools and we won't be able to find out that information specifically until after count day uh when we get our transfer report data that comes in. What about transfers between funds? WC
109transferred.57% of our education fund revenue to operations. We are allowed to transfer up to 15%. This puts us easily among the lowest in the state. Um and our transfers are dramatically smaller than other districts around us both in total dollars and percentage of ed fund. Um starting over at the left, Concord, Tippy Valley, Goan, Elcart, Warsaw, Witco, and then uh Wawasi. So some information about transfer. We transfer very very little money between our education fund and our operations fund. Why is that important? Because that leaves money in the education fund to use on our education fund expenses like our instructional positions, teachers, pair professionals, etc. We are required by state law to spend uh I think last year did this go up to 65? This number went up to 65% for this coming year. uh
110through the legislative session, but last year we required to spend 62% of our state tuition support on teacher salary and benefits specifically, not instructional, not admin, but teacher salary and benefits. Um we are at 79.22% of our education fund goes directly to teacher salary and benefits. We gave a $4,500 increase over the last two-year contract for certified staff. 3,000 in the first year, 1,500 in the second. We did have modest wage increases um plus stipens for our non-certified staff. Um two years ago, we gave a $1,000 stipen at Christmas time for our nonerts. Last year, we gave $500 uh stipen at Christmas time for our non-certified staff in addition to their 25 cent longevity increase. This is a huge deal um for us. We've had 0% increase in our health insurance premiums uh for our
111employees over the last two years. Uh the year before that was a 2% increase. So over the last three years, there's been one 2% increase and uh I would argue that that's almost unheard of. Um it's been a big deal to our employees. Last year we gave uh two the last two years we gave two insurance premium holidays. What that means is um for that particular pay you don't have to pay your health insurance premiums uh as part of your check. And I put three in parenthesis because that third one uh we gave as a um incentive for participating in our health screen. So last year, typically on a typical year, we uh take benefits and insurance premiums out 20 times a year. Um last year we did that 17 times and they had the
112other uh six, seven, eight, nine. They had the other nine times uh in which that didn't happen. That's a savings of like 300 bucks. Uh we've done that strategically over the last couple years, usually one before Christmas, one before spring break. Uh so that gives those employees if they're on the family plan uh about $300 more in their check uh for that. And then last year a huge deal we implemented a four tier insurance structure. We were typy two tier. Uh so we implemented a four tier insurance structure at no cost to our employees uh which was significant savings. Typically when you do that um then some people in the insurance plan realize uh a rate increase because you got to pay for the reduction of rate with the people who go down uh if
113they're coming off a family maybe going to employee plus kid or employee plus spouse. This was a big deal. >> Can can you explain what that means? Four tier. >> Yeah. So, prior to this four tier change, we had a single plan, health insurance, or we had a family plan. Now, we've got a single, an employee plus kids, employee plus spouse, and a full family. So, typically, again, when that change happens, the family plans will go up to adjust for the middle two coming down. Um, but we were able to do that with no increase, which is a big deal and doesn't get talked about at all and doesn't uh get recognized in in anything. Our commitment moving forward is fiscal responsibility. We have to align spending with our enrollment and revenue. That's the bottom
114line. It doesn't again matter how the enrollment got to the position that it's in financially speaking, but we have to uh align those two or else we're going to continue to uh spend and have higher expenditures than our revenue. Uh transparency and accountability. We've got to correct inaccurate information with facts. I appreciate Mr. Chalk providing facts to the board. Um, we want to make sure that we've got good info out there. Uh, we want to continue to invest in our people, compensate our staff at or above the minimum requirements. We talked about the savings um with only the two um two positions being impacted in terms of loss of position and effic and efficiency in administration and support staffing while safeguarding critical services. So, here's my email. Mr. Bokart, I don't believe knew that I
115was going to put his email up here, but certainly you can email that or any of the other board members. Um, if there are very pressing questions, I would uh be happy to answer those, but just for a minute or two um because we got to continue on. We haven't got to anything in the business action of our board meeting. Okay. Thank you, Dr. Board. Have any comments? Okay. We'll move on to our group action items. Um, we all received these in our board packet and we've had an opportunity to review. Are there any questions or comments about group action items? Then if there aren't any questions, I need a motion to approve the group action items. >> Is it second? >> I have a motion and a second. All in favor signify by saying
116I. I. Opposed. Motion carries. Moving on to additional action items. First up under additional action items presented by Dr. Penrod is item 10A, the financial report. Dr. Penrod, >> excuse me. Thank you. So, our first uh first half of this slide, the top half in the education fund appropriations obviously didn't change for the year, but the month-to- date expended at 1,827,54502. Our year-to- date expended at just over 15 million and our unexpended balance at 7.112 million. The outstanding encumbrance right now is 53773511, which leaves the unencumbered balance at 6,57513717. and that is 70.31% encumbered. Uh we had uh no activ I'm sorry we had uh monthto date expended in the debt service fund at 14,59.76 year-to- date expended at 7,52017087. Our unexpended balance then at 6,567 and our uh outstanding encumbrance of nothing. So the
117unencumbered balance is the same and we're at 53.38% expended there. On the operation side, our month-to- date expended it's almost $666,000. Our year-to- date expended at 5,912 02205. Our unexpended balance at 5,35110720. Outstanding incumbrance of 440,25576 and our unencumbered balance at 4,910,85144 for the percent incumbent of 56.40%. uh no activity in the rainy day fund as far as expenditures and 0% expended for the uh for the calendar year. The bottom portion of this is our cash on hand. So our fund balances, our beginning of the month uh fund balance in the education fund just under 3.25 million. Month-to-ate revenue which comes mostly from state tuition support at 1,85,77783. Monthtoate expenses at 1,82754502. Our beginning of the year balance obviously didn't change. Our month-to- date revenue, I'm sorry, year-to- date revenue at 14,625,420 and 42 cents.
118Year-to- date expenses 15,03562167, leaving current balance at 3,22769315. In the debt service fund, we had month-to- date I'm sorry, beginning of month balance at uh 2,68784239. Our month-to- date revenue at 20510 and our expenses as mentioned above $14,59.76. Beginning of the year balance uh hasn't changed obviously the year-to- date revenue uh mostly from property tax in this fund at 8,68069592. Our year-to- date expenses at 7,520,1787. So our current balance then excuse me our current balance then at 2,673 98773 the operations fund uh monthto-day our beginning of the month balance is 5,326120 and10 monthtoday revenue at 86,66467. our expenses this month at just under uh 666,000. So our beginning of the year balance at 5.175 million year-to- date revenue at 5,48305792 again most of that property tax. The year-to- date expenses at 5,912205 and our current
119balance then at 4,746 78680. Uh no activity in the rain any day fund. So our balance there uh remains at 2,ion46323191. Any questions? Nope. We need a motion and a second to approve item 10A, the financial report. >> I have a motion. Do I have a second? >> I'll second. >> Have a motion and a second. All in favor signify by saying I. >> I. Opposed. Motion carries. Next up, item 10B, consider special purchases. Dr. Penrod. >> Thank you. One of these uh as included in your packet, one of these relates to the Milford ele elementary project. The other one relates to a specific class at the uh at at CTE and a piece of machinery that uh we had a grant for um that uh is is also being uh purchased at less than
120market price through uh partnership with Polywood. We need that particular grant or that particular uh piece of machinery to uh teach the class the way that we've partnered with Polywood. questions. >> Yeah, it was a grant from the Donwood Foundation to cover that. Yeah. >> If there's no other questions, I need a motion and a second to approve item 10B, the special purchases as outlined by Dr. Penrod. >> Is there a second? I have a motion and a second. All in favor signify by saying I. I oppose. Motion carries. Item 10 C is consider adopting a preliminary bond resolution. Dr. Penrod. >> Thank you. This preliminary bond resolution establishes the maximum amount to be borrowed, the maximum term of repayment, the maximum interest rate, all with respect to the issuance of general obligation bonds. >>
121Questions? We need a motion and a second to approve item 10 C, the preliminary bond resolution. Is there a second? >> Second. >> You got a motion and a second. All in favor signify by saying I. >> I oppose. Motion carries. Item 10D is consider adopting reimbursement resolution. Dr. Penrod. And this this resolution allows the school corporation to uh to reimburse themselves should they pay any preliminary costs related to the project in advance of receiving the bond proceeds. Uh this again reserves the right or the ability to reimburse from those proceeds after closing. The Internal Revenue Service requires that a school corporation declare its official intent to reimburse as documented in this resolution in order to reserve this ability to reimburse. Questions? Now I need a motion to approve item 10D as presented by Dr.
122Penrod. >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> Got a motion and a second. All in favor signify by saying I. I opposed. Motion carries. Item 10E is consider Jones Petri Rafinsky proposal for soil boring. Dr. Troyer. >> Thank you. We are looking to make improvements to the existing tennis and track facilities at WC High School in addition to improvements at the Wawc Middle School track which would involve surfacing the existing asphalt track. Additionally, we are exploring a weight room expansion at Wise High School, which would potentially add 3,800 square feet of of space to the existing weight room. At this time, we are looking at financing from uh savings out of the two large projects that we have going on in addition to premium generated from good bond sales uh as well as existing
123bond revenue that exists from other bonds. Uh before we move forward with any of this work, soil borings and geotechnical investigation need to be completed in these areas to determine the pre-existing conditions to help outline the scope of work to be completed. Your board packet, you have a proposal from JPR to conduct topographic surveys and geotechnical investigation at these sites. I'd ask the board to consider approving this proposal as outlined so the work can be completed this fall. Yes. >> At which track? >> Anywhere. >> They want to make sure before we put a new surface on the top that the foundation is suitable for the the existing asphalt base that's below that new surface. So, it like one of the things that we've discovered is that potentially the tennis courts, the foundation may be
124um an issue. So, we don't want to just cover it with a new surface and then still have issues with the tennis court below the surface that are causing problems. So, the reality is um in working with our design people, they feel like we need to move forward with some soil testing to make sure we understand the full um scope of what's what they're dealing with before they outline what they feel like would be a solution to the problem at every location that's necessary. >> Yes. >> Anyone else? >> How long does that lastan So I don't know 30 grand. I'd like to know that I mean these guys are right. So 130 grand on the project we're going to do or not which we probably will but I also know is it is it
125a budget neutral thing? Is it budget neutral? Are we doing that to do this projecting or do we have capacity for all those things? >> You want to speak to that athletic facilities that we're talking about. Uh I don't know the answer either as far as how long these soil tests last or what >> likely. I don't I just don't know the answer to that. Um but the uh we'll have money left over at the Milford project that or the large project the Milford uh performing arts center project that um that we're using if if this is approved that we'll use to pay for this and then uh depending on what the cost of the next of the you know like the track would be if we end up doing a track we can use
126that money as well. >> So the question under budget on those two projects. We have to spend the money or you not >> uh we can um we don't have to spend in a certain time period like there's >> no I mean our debt obligation process Yeah, I see what you're saying. >> You see what I'm saying? >> I want to be able to speak intelligently. >> I don't know a mechanism to do that. I'm not saying there isn't one. I'm just not aware of one that >> you guys. >> So, you can either table it or you can >> I'm just thinking >> vote on it and vote. to table that. >> I'm not going to I got to know more. >> Yeah. Okay. So, I think yeah, we need to table that till
127next month till we get more information at the next meeting. >> I mean, that stuff needs to happen. Those things >> I would I will tell you, Mr. K, that one thing that for sure has to happen is if we're going to do anything with the tennis courts, there has to be soil bling done because it's speculated that the foundation is not good and that's what's causing the cracks to occur repeatedly. >> I buy that one because it looks like the other. >> Can we also get a ballark of what each project would cost? Do we have that too? >> That that's what part of this process was to understand what the scope is. >> I know. >> If you have to replace the the foundation that's >> they can give us I just got
128a quote with or without my building. >> Yeah, we can do that. >> At least we have a sense of it. And so and a middle school track is currently asphalt, >> right? And we're considering rubberizing it. >> I think that it's been >> I've heard I've heard the complaint for a long time. >> I like these projects. >> Sure. >> That makes sense. We we'll be happy to get you some more information and bring it back to you next month. Shoot. This is probably my dumb question. Should we just approve the tennis court boring or we shouldn't do? >> Let me get some more information and see. >> Because I know for a fact it's caving in and there's a point where we're going to be we're going to spend a hell of a
129lot more at some point. We're going to have to fix. >> Yeah, for sure. >> So So we're we're this is before you right now because we want to get the soil boring test the soil boring done this fall. so that they can do any design work they need to to figure out what's going on underneath and then get it done and lined up for construction next summer. So, we essentially play this fall season and spring season on the existing tennis courts, >> do the construction, whatever that looks like next summer and they're ready to go next fall. >> Would we not agree with the four projects tennis is the most? >> For sure. I would agree with that. >> Can we pull that out of this? Yeah, you can make a motion to do
130the soil boring on just the tennis courts. >> We know that's >> I live across the street from that and I've always wondered if that's not been an issue. >> You can do just the tennis courts. That's >> We'll get some more information. >> Okay. So I would need a motion to consider the Jones Petri Rafinsky soil boring for the tennis courts only at this time. >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> So we have a motion and a second. All in favor signify by saying I. >> I. Opposed. >> Motion carries. Uh item 10F is to establish a designated fund for Wallace school supplies through KCCF. Dr. Troyer. Yeah. This year WC Community Schools was able to provide all students with school supplies at no cost. An effort that brought significant relief to
131families and strong support from the community to sustain the program which costs about $45,000 annually. We are proposing to establish a Wy student supply fund with the Casiasco County Community Foundation. This non-permanent designated fund will allow for broader giving options such as stocks, land, and other assets while ensuring professional management and accountability with dispersements requiring signatures from both superintendent and a board member. We already have a $1,000 donation waiting to be transferred pending board approval. This would be At least the second fund that I know of that we house at the KCCF. Uh in the last couple years, we moved education foundation fund down to KCCF as well. >> Questions about the fund? We need a motion to approve item 10F as outlined by Dr. Troyer. >> Okay, got a motion and second. All in
132favor signify by saying I. I opposed. Motion carries. Item 10 G's, consider the Basher alternative program educational services. Dr. Troyer. >> Yeah. In your board packet, you'll find a proposed agreement from Basher Children's Home for the purchase of alternative education services through the Basher alternative program for three Wy students. I ask the board to consider approving the agreement as presented. >> Three students. So these come up on an as needed basis when we approve these um services. >> Yes. >> Yeah. Any other questions? Then I need a motion and a second to approve item 10G. A motion. Is there a second? Got a motion and a second. All in favor signify by saying I. >> I opposed. And lastly, item 10H is approval of hands in autism training and agreement. Mrs. Phillips, >> and I'll
133take this one. >> I was shocked. Weren't you? >> Mrs. Phillips doesn't have a microphone and she can, uh, add anything if I screw this up. So, uh, Wall State Community Schools is, um, considering an agreement with the Hands and Autism Interdisciplinary Training and Resource Center operated by Indiana University to provide professional development and coaching for staff across the district. This partnership includes a model classroom at Northwester Elementary, monthly coaching coaching sessions in schools, and the five-day intensive training this fall uh that you heard about earlier uh with participants from WC and other districts. Funding will be through a combination of Medicaid part B grants uh cost sharing from outside the district. Um excuse me. The goal is to build staff capacity, improve uh inclusive practices and strengthen support for students with disabilities. I would
134ask the board to consider approving the hands agreement as presented in the board packet. If you have questions, ask Mrs. Phillips. How many people can >> our number 40? >> Our number is 44. So my hope is across the district. Medic transport services. And if you don't want to answer or if you shouldn't answer, I'm just wondering how many students do we have that are identified. >> Any other questions? We need a motion and a second to approve item 10H as presented by Dr. Tyer and Mrs. Phillips. >> Second. >> Have a motion and a second. All in favor signify by saying I. >> I opposed. Motion carries. This brings us to other items. Does anybody have another item? >> I have something very nice. Last night I was actually attending my daughter's seventh grade
135volleyball game. We proceeded I saw a lot of the seventh those are middle school. I think this is really cool. So you have these seventh grade girls as a button and eighth graders are playing afterwards. All the parents doing the same thing. But then I see the boys all the seventh grade eighth grade boys cheering these girls on. And it was really cool because you saw that like student camaraderie. Uh I'm really big on that. So when I see students doing that, especially when they don't have to be there, you know, parents, we know we have to be there, brothers and sisters, whatever it is. But to see those boys uh in there just made me feel really good that like, you know, for the middle school, it just it was a really nice show.
136And I want to the reason why I'm sharing that is because there's some great things that we're doing here. And I know a lot of it's been coming out and I'm a process guy so I'm very very reserved because I like to digest all of this and a lot of this information is really good. But I just want to make sure everyone understands that there's some really great things that are happening. We have great staff. Now can it get better? Absolutely. And I agree with Mr. Ken's point. I don't want to come at this as you know my emails open my open I calls I emails. I'll be more than happy to sit with you. U Mr. Chop, love to just sit with you. Just love to sit with you and just have conversation about
137because several things, you know, help us help us get better is what I've said. And I I believe that is your intention because you and I have the same thing. We have a horse in the race, you know, and we want the best for our schools. We want the best for our leadership, best for our board, best for best for everything. Uh but I just say this, there's some really great things. I just want us to make sure that, you know, where our focus is, that's where our energy will go. So, let's let's really focus on just becoming better. Uh because we're all better than that. We are at the end of the day. That's just kind of my my thing. And I just made me think about those boys there cheering. They're just there
138to cheer, but just unbeknownst to them of all the things that we have to do as adults, you know, they're just enjoying that Wallace experience. So, let's let's make sure we understand we're keep we're doing the best for our children, best for our students, best for our teachers, best for our staff. Is it going to be perfect? Absolutely not. Um, but I'll be ded. It was in regard to um the special purchases. Uh the Pathways um co-op had a an open house at Pollywood with through the Polywood Academy. Um that was I think Thursday night. Was that Thursday night? Yep. And I was there. Dr. Troyer was there. Um a number of students were there. Uh there were two ladies there from the Donwood Foundation. Uh some people did a short tour. Um, they actually
139have the two identical machines that they already use in production for their Polywood plant, which are exactly the same as the machine, a CNC machine. It's going to be purchased through the Donwood grant that is specifically only for our students. Um, one of the Don Wood ladies uh was asking some questions of students there. And and by the way, there's like we now have two two levels of that. We got our first year students and our second year students. The first year students um if they qualify, they end up with a certified builder certificate. When you do second year, you are certified as a CNC operator. And I I that machine is when I saw that and I saw the the I don't even know what you call them, but there's electronic things and all
140kinds of stuff on them that tell the CNC machine plus the computer what it's supposed to do. Um I ask the instructor is is like any of your CNC students when they graduate with their CNC certification, you feel comfortable putting them on this machine? Absolutely, 100%. um in connection with um getting jobs. I mean, the whole program was just so impressive. But any student that's in the Polywood Academy can apply for summer employment. What Polywood requires them to do, this was just it really hit a cord for me, they have to fill out an application, they have to fill out a resume, and they have to interview. And I'm thinking, oh my gosh, what what job find how many people lose a job because they can't fill out their application or they can't interview properly
141or whatever. I thought it was just such a wonderful thing. And then when the ladies were asking questions of the students, u everybody in this room should be proud of the answers that those students were able to give those ladies. It it was just it was it was it was moving to watch them. One of the students I I don't know if he um recognized me as a board member, but after the presentation was done, he made a beline over to me to specifically just to talk to me about his experience and what was going on. So, it it was an incredible experience. Um, and I don't know how many of us are aware of of that academy that's going on with Polywood, but it it was a it's a it's a great thing, and
142our CTE program should be um commended. So, any other items? If not, I need a motion to adjurnn. >> Second. >> All in favor signify by saying I. I. >> Opposed. Motion carries.