The cafeteria ceiling at Washington STEM Academy as it appeared in May, shortly after it was uncovered during construction. The ceiling material will be tested for asbestos before the cafeteria can be used. (File photo)

WARSAW — Despite ongoing construction, the Warsaw Community School Board learned Tuesday evening, Aug. 9, Washington STEM Academy and Edgewood Middle School will be move-in ready next Monday, Aug. 15.

During a brief design-build update, the board was told that the main focus over the past few weeks has been on making the buildings safe and functional. Fire alarms, sprinklers and other required features are installed, classrooms are finished and safety concerns have been addressed.

A remaining issue has been the ceiling in the Washington cafeteria, which still needs to be tested for asbestos. The original idea was to leave the ceiling exposed for a more industrial look and so the skylights, uncovered during initial construction phases, can provide natural light. However, should asbestos be present in the ceiling material, installed in the 1960s, the ceiling will need to be covered for safety purposes.

WCS Superintendent Dr. David Hoffert noted WCS Food Services Manger Marci Franks has an alternate plan in place should the cafeteria be unusable during the first few weeks of school.

Concerns came up as to whether workers will be present while students are in class, to which Hoffert replied that now, they will not, and major work will not take place during class time. The only time workers will be present inside the building during the school day, he added, would be if some type of emergency work needed to be done, such as a repair.

Work continues on the new Lincoln Elementary School building which is not slated to be done until the second half of the school year.

Besides design-build, other topics that came up during the meeting included requests for out-of-state travel. The board granted Mindi Reinholt’s request to attend a National Association for Gifted Children conference in Orlando, Fla.

Chief Financial Officer Brandon Penrod also received approval to attend, tentatively, the Association of School Business Officials international conference in Phoenix, Ariz.

Other News

• The board approved the 2016-2017 Title I Funding Application. Title I is at three Warsaw schools and is based on the percentage of families participating in the free and reduced lunch program.
• The board also approved the 2016-2017 Title III allotment and NESP allotment for English language learners.
• Updates were made to the administrative policies manual. It was noted many of the policies implemented into the manual were already in practice, tough unofficially, at WCS. New wording was also added pertaining to sexual orientation and gender identity.