Jim Evans talks about changes coming to how school corporation budgets are divided.

SYRACUSE — As is the norm each year, when a new fiscal year approaches the Wawasee school board holds budget work sessions. One was held Tuesday evening, July 31, in Syracuse.

But this budget work session was different because changes are coming soon to how public school corporation budgets are divided. Due to a new state law going into effect Jan. 1, 2019, the current five budget funds of general, capital projects, transportation operating, bus replacement and debt service will be replaced with education, operations and debt service.

Jim Evans, director of finances for the Wawasee Community School Corporation, noted the education fund replaces the general fund and will include direct classroom expenditures, while operations will include capital projects, transportation operating, bus replacement, overhead and non-operational expenditures. Oddly enough, the superintendent’s salary will be included in the operations fund, but all other administrative salaries will be part of the education fund.

Evans said the new law does not provide any new money to the school corporation, it only means the money will be split differently than it has in the past. In addition, in past years money had to be put in “silos,” and could not be moved from one fund to another, but the new law changes that and gives school boards more flexibility to move funds from the education fund to the operations fund.

“The best way I’ve seen it illustrated is by saying they are buckets of sand, instead of silos,“ Evans said, referring to the new funds, noting sand can be moved from bucket to bucket. The debt service fund, however, will remain a silo and can’t be altered.

Becky Linnemeier, school board president, asked Evans if the new law will be beneficial to school corporations. Evans said it won’t really change day to day operations, but in the event of an emergency the school board will have the option of moving funds if needed.

Don Bokhart of the school board said it appears the new law could allow the state to be able to track classroom expenditures more closely.

In other business, when it came time for the board to vote on revisions for the student handbooks for Wawasee Middle School and Wawasee High School there was some discussion about leggings. Mary Lou Dixon of the school board said she has heard complaints about some of the leggings worn. Some may be considered too tight or revealing.

Linnemeier noted leggings are in style and very inexpensive to buy compared to blue jeans. “I don’t think we should not allow any leggings to be worn,” she said, adding some leggings would not be considered inappropriate.

After discussion the board seemed to be in agreement leggings can be worn if combined with a finger tip length shirt. Before this portion of the handbook is adopted there will be more discussion and possibly other changes made.

Other questions were raised about the number of unexcused absences allowed during the last five days before the end of a trimester at the high school. More clarification on the policy is needed as it was noted some emergencies could arise and prevent students from attending school.

Just two weeks before the start of the 2018-19 school year, several personnel changes were approved by the school board including the hiring of Sarah Fredericks as a German teacher at the high school effective Aug. 14.