Guests of the annual Syracuse Lake Association Breakfast Meeting Saturday had an abundance of pastries, fruit, vegetables, yogurt, egg casseroles and more to enjoy. Over 100 members attended the meeting and heard from Dr. Nate Bosch, Lilly Center for Lakes and Streams, and Dr. Steve Troyer, Wawasee Community School Corp. Photos by Deb Patterson.

By Deb Patterson
InkFreeNews

SYRACUSE — Overviews of the Wawasee Community School Corporation and Lilly Lakes & Streams were the programs for the annual Syracuse Lake Association Breakfast Meeting Saturday morning, Aug. 6.

Dr. Steve Troyer, superintendent of Wawasee Community Schools, and Dr. Nate Bosch, director of Lilly Center for Lakes & Streams, presented the overviews.

Troyer provided information on the school corporation, what was happening and significant challenges. Because a large number of the SLA membership were not full-time residents, he noted there are five schools in the district with an elementary school in each town within the district. “Each one is a part of the three towns’ own identity,” he stated, adding the corporation unites those identities into the corporation.

Current enrollment for the corporation is 2,750 kids with 450 staff members. “We are fully staffed along with all bus drivers,” he announced. Additionally he noted the first student day would be Wednesday, Aug. 10, and students would get out before Memorial Day.

He briefly noted the Early Learning Program offered seven available sites, serving 100 kids. “There’s a site in every building except Wawasee Middle School.” The program targets kids between the ages of 3 and 5 with a handful of infant and toddlers. “It is a necessary service in preparing kids for kindergarten,” he said. Additionally a partnership with Polywood to provide child care for its employees and assist with those children’s educational journey was noted.

The biggest challenge, Troyer stated, is student enrollment. “The number of births is going down. We are partially funded by students coming in to school. The student numbers go down, money coming into the corporation goes down. We have to figure how we are going to deal with that.”

Dr. Nate Bosch, director of Lilly Center for Lakes and Streams, talks about the research, education, and collaboration projects the center does with SLA.

Troyer stated there has been a loss of 500-600 students over the past seven to eight years. In 2005-06 the enrollment was 3,200 to 3,300. Last year the figure was 2,804. “That’s a significant impact and we’re constantly working to develop strategies on how to keep the kids.” With the school choice program the corporation has a job of selling itself to keep students.

Troyer also fielded questions that focused on enrollment and housing. Troyer stated the current lack of housing for startup families is an issue and it is hoped the future development at South Shore and what is in the works in Milford will bring young families to the area. He also felt the decrease was not only couples having fewer children, but graduates going off to college and not returning to the area.

He said the corporation is looking at increased academic programs to draw students. “We are constantly evaluating what we offer. We’re not super small, but we don’t have the resources a larger school would have. We focus on what we can do with the resources we have and build the high school academic program.” The bolstering of AP programs for the 900-950 high school students was noted. “We could do a lot more if we had bigger capacity. We offer the best opportunity for our kids here.”

Cindy Kaiser, president of the Syracuse Lake Association updates members on goals and projects.

Bosch touched on educational programs, research and collaborative efforts to make Syracuse Lake clean, healthy, safe and beautiful. He mentioned the economic impact study, obtaining certification from the state for its E. coli lab and developing a property value forecasting tool with the EPA. Assessing agriculture practices and quantifying those practices is also a project.

Among the research at Syracuse, he noted weekly lake sampling is undertaken by the center’s students, including the study of algae toxins and how it connects to zebra mussels and the decline in bald eagles, boating impacts, and E. coli at public beaches, sewers, weed control and nutrient studies. Partnership with SLA includes research and educational projects.

Educational newsletters and presentations in the community were noted as being available.

During the business aspect of the meeting, Cindy Kaiser, president, announced a photo contest, which ends Labor Day, for the front of next year’s lake directory. Among the short-term goals noted was creating an association’s website. “The railroad bridge is always being thought about,” she stated, with conversation being held about that situation and working with the Turkey Creek Dam and Dike Conservation District.

Appreciation was also given to Brew City Coffee, Owls Nest, Overboards, Floral Dynamics and Main Channel Marina for their assistance in the morning brunch and table decorations.