SYRACUSE — During a special meeting Tuesday, Aug. 23, in Syracuse the Wawasee school board spent more time discussing other business than talking about the 2017 budget. The meeting was the second of two budget workshops as the new fiscal year approaches.

The budget has been advertised in local newspapers and will be considered for adoption by the school board at the regular monthly meeting at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 13, in the Warrior Room of Wawasee High School.

Dr. Tom Edington, Wawasee superintendent, said the school corporation has one of the lowest, if not the lowest, tax rates for schools in the state.

In other business, the board approved requesting an address change for Milford School. The address is presently 611 W. Emeline St., but 110 S. Elm St. is the new address being requested said James Flecker, school corporation attorney. He said online mapping sites such as Google and MapQuest show 110 S. Elm is the first unobstructed main entrance to the school.

Becky Linnemeier, school board president, noted new students sometimes do go to the wrong door out of confusion. Assuming the address change is approved, it will take some time for the transition to be made, Flecker said.

Also on the agenda, the board approved an overnight stay for eight to 10 students from the Milford School Warrior Outdoor Club Sept. 16-17 at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park in northern Michigan. Students would volunteer at a large adventure race and would learn new events to include in Milford’s adventure race at the end of the school year. It would also meet requirements for volunteer hours for the Make an Impact project at Milford.

Teachers Amy Evans and Mary Brower will attend along with a couple of adult volunteers. There was some discussion about background checks done for volunteers. Flecker said background checks are only limited ones for volunteers and are not required by state law. Board member Don Bokhart suggested consideration of expanding the background checks even for volunteers, though it was noted there is a $40 cost for every more detailed background check.

Also at Tuesday’s meeting, Edington noted Milford School received a grant in excess of $10,000 to be able to bring in inspirational speaker Jen Bricker, a gymnast with disabilities. A date has yet to be scheduled. Another grant for $1,000 will be used for a parent service day for the Milford School outdoor classroom.

Personnel actions approved by the board included:

• Roxanne Gonzales will be a paraprofessional at Syracuse Elementary School and Sonya Wroblewski and Tina McGuire will be cafeteria workers at North Webster Elementary.

• Ida Rose resigned as a school corporation bus driver.

• Heidi Heinisch will be a sixth grade math teacher at Milford School and Brian Peshel will be a math teacher at Wawasee High School.