Schenkel Construction Sum Accepted, School Remodel Starts Soon

LARWILL-In addition to the regular monthly business, Whitko’s December School Board meeting approved the bid from Schenkel Construction for the D-wing remodel project that was discussed at the Work Session on Dec. 13. This bid of $6,660,000 included some options for cutting costs, including one that changed the standard cast iron pipe to PVC, which the school has opted to not do as the potential problems could end up costing far more than the savings. Unspecified field trips were also approved.

Whitko School Board Members Annette Arnold, Scott Werstler, Georgia Tenney, Deb Thomas and Lynn StudebakerPhoto byMelany Love & https://whitko.org/school-board/

Students of the Month included:

• Whitko Senior High: Alayna Kreps, nominated by Don Dyck
• Whitko Junior High: Meredith Hindbaugh, nominated by Mike Handback
• Whitko Career Academy: Lillian Coil, nominated by Megan Anderson
• South Whitley Elementary School: Madelyn Abbott, nominated by Emily Duggins
• Pierceton Elementary School: Bridget Rodgers, nominated by Madison Moss
• Little Cats: Clay Jenkins, nominated by Jennifer Dahms

The Whitko FFA recently participated in Christmas caroling at Millers Merry Manor, and the Whitko Pep Band added nearly a dozen people to the band for their Alumni Night event last Friday. Whitko Archery received a $2,000 donation, WCA received $405, and Pierceton Elementary received an anonymous donation of $250 to help students.

Little Cats is working on switching over to a new voucher system, rebranding their logo, pushing their marketing, picking out new furniture for the new classrooms, and planning an upcoming open house.

Pierceton Elementary School is working on Christmas cards for local nursing homes, a cookie fundraiser, and collecting toiletries for the community. The next PTO meeting is January 17. They are reporting “lots of progress in reading levels across the board.” An Erin’s Law presentation covering sexual assault takes place on the 19-20 of Dec.

South Whitley Elementary School is working on shifting teachers toward teaching each child how the child specifically learns, and Principal Joel Holsopple is excited about preparing for an upcoming spelling bee--his first ever.

Whitko Jr./Sr. High Wrestling and Girls’ Basketball teams have upcoming events. The Wrestling team has a Dec. 30 tournament and celebrates Alumni Night on January 2, and the Girls’ Basketball team has a Dec. 22 Alumni Night and a Jan. 13 Senior Night. Athletic Director Barry Singrey plans to improve the lighting and safety of the football bleachers.

The Transportation Department has been restructuring and has a new Transportation Specialist, who is reportedly doing a good job. There are two new positions in the school system that are opening up--one at Pierceton and a part-time position at WCA. 

Special Services has seen an increase from 293 students last year to 327 this year, and they have upcoming training for staff.

Upcoming retirements include SWES Cafeteria Manager Sandy Dockey on Dec. 31 and Wayne Swender on July 31. Swender has served 43 years at Whitko, including as a physical education teacher, World History teacher, and as the Director of Driver Education.

The Board of Finance and reorganization meetings are Wednesday, January 10 at 4pm and 4:15pm, followed by a Work Session, in the WCA lecture room.

Scan of AgendaPhoto byMelany Love

Scan of AgendaPhoto byMelany Love