Teachers, parents and school board members watch as Lincoln Elementary School fourth-graders demonstrate a slow boat race. (Photos by Amanda McFarland)

WARSAW — Roughly a month after announcing a $1 million partnership with Lutheran Health Network, the Warsaw Community Schools board of trustees has announced what it plans to do with the funding.

The announcement came during the board’s regular meeting Monday evening, March 14, that WCS will use it to install artificial turf on the school’s athletic field, something they believe will benefit the students who use the field for things like PE, marching band and youth league.

“The large cost of upkeep, concussion and injury concerns, limited accessibility outside of athletic events and needed advancements in drainage concerns also led to the decision to replace the traditional turf field with a synthetic product,” WCS Superintendent Dr. David Hoffert said.

A string trio serenaded the crowd prior to the start of the WCS board of trustees meeting.

In addition, the school has funds set aside, which they have previously budgeted for resurfacing of the school’s track.

“The current track is 10 years old and was already on a replacement cycle for update this year,” Hoffert said. “Doing both projects together saves on engineering and construction costs.”

The board approved the issuing of general obligation bonds, which Hoffert said will not affect taxpayers’ current tax rate.

The board chose the Motz Company as the synthetic field manufacturer. Work will begin in late May so the field can be ready for the next school year.

Student talent and achievement were also a major focus during the meeting.

Attendees were greeted with the sounds of a string trio as middle schoolers showcased their ISSMA state competition piece, one their preparing for the Battle of the Bands and one they improvised on the spot.

The Warsaw Community High School Junior ROTC Color Guard presented the colors and led the Pledge of Allegiance. They gave a brief presentation about JROTC, which focuses on leadership and community. There are currently 91 cadets in the WCHS program and the dream is to grow that to more than 100.

One JROTC team took third place during a competition in Hobart last October. The color guard will compete in April. JROTC students have also held programs for younger grades on things like properly caring for and folding the flag.

Lincoln Elementary School fourth-graders showed off their slow boat project. The idea was to create the slowest boat. These were tied to a weighted string, which pulled them along a stretch of water inside a tub. The slowest boat won the race.

The idea behind the project was to teach students scientific concepts like drag, friction, motion, speed and force. Teams of two were given $12 apiece to purchase materials for their boats. Each trial run also cost 50 cents, so students had to learn to budget.

Other News

• Hoffert reminded kindergarten parents that the registration deadline is April 1 for the half-day and language immersion programs.
• Parents who missed kindergarten roundup need to contact their neighborhood school to set up an appointment with their child’s teacher. Hoffert noted enrollment numbers affect things like the number of teaching positions the schools will have.
• The Riley Dance Marathon has been moved to Friday evening.