The special meeting of the Wawasee Community School Corporation board of trustees Monday, July 20, lasted only 12 minutes, but the board’s action could have districtwide impact for the next eight years.

SYRACUSE — As it did last week, the Wawasee School Board held a special emergency meeting Tuesday morning, March 24, in Syracuse in light of the coronavirus outbreak. Only one board member — board president Rebecca Linnemeier — was present while the other board members with the exception of Mary Lou Dixon participated by phone …read more.

SYRACUSE — Wawasee School Board approved Resolution 2020-001 during a special emergency meeting held Monday afternoon, March 16, in the central office board room in Syracuse. James Flecker, director of personnel and legal services for the Wawasee Community School Corporation, said the resolution will allow non-salaried employees to continue receiving income even while mandated to …read more.

SYRACUSE — During a 12-minute meeting held Monday afternoon, Feb. 24, in Syracuse, the Wawasee School Board approved a bid from Fort Wayne-based Hamilton Hunter Builders for 2020 facility improvement projects. Hamilton Hunter’s bid is for $2,219,600. All but one of the projects will be in either Wawasee High School or Wawasee Middle School. Following …read more.

SYRACUSE — “When I woke up this morning, I didn’t think I would be buying a school,” said Richard Gingerich of Nappanee. Richard and Regina Gingerich’s bid of $105,000 was the winning bid in the real estate auction Monday afternoon, Nov. 4, for the property of the former Syracuse Elementary School on Brooklyn Street. The …read more.

SYRACUSE — During a special Wawasee School Board meeting Monday evening, Sept. 23, the board discussed adopting an updated vision statement for the school corporation. James Flecker, director of personnel and legal services for the Wawasee Community School Corporation, said a vision statement needs to be looked at every three to five years. He noted …read more.

SYRACUSE — On Monday morning, Sept. 23, Doug Light was already interacting with some of the Wawasee Middle School students as they arrived for school. It was Light’s first day as the new school resource officer for WMS. Through an Indiana School Safety Grant, Light will split time between WMS and North Webster Elementary as …read more.

SYRACUSE — On the eve of the first day of school for students and also during the time when each building in the school corporation was having a back to school open house, the Wawasee School Board held its regular monthly meeting Tuesday evening, Aug. 13, in Syracuse. During the shorter than normal meeting, the …read more.

SYRACUSE — Sometimes just connecting with the right person can open a door for a job opportunity. Aaron McKinley has been remodeling a bathroom in the home of James Flecker in Syracuse. Flecker, who happens to be the director of personnel and legal services for the Wawasee Community School Corporation, suggested to McKinley he should …read more.

SYRACUSE — At a special meeting Tuesday, July 16, the Wawasee Community School Corp. board approved the hiring of John Snyder to serve as an assistant principal at Wawasee High School. His two-year contract begins today, Wednesday, July 17. Snyder, recommended by Dr. Tom Edington, the corporation’s superintendent, will specifically serve as assistant principal of …read more.

SYRACUSE — Because state funding is either flat or declining for many school districts in Indiana, saving money becomes even more of a priority. State funding for the Wawasee Community School Corporation has seen little or no growth in recent years. With a tighter budget, administrators have looked for ways to control or cut costs. …read more.

SYRACUSE — Roughly within two months “we will start realizing the benefits of the sun,” said James Flecker, director of personnel and legal services for the Wawasee Community School Corporation. His comment was made during a special meeting of the Wawasee School Board Tuesday evening, March 26, in Syracuse. The main purpose of the special …read more.

SYRACUSE — A small group of Wawasee High School students flying the Confederate flag on their pickup trucks and also wearing some form of the flag on their clothing has apparently attracted plenty of local attention and even some national attention. During the regular monthly meeting of the Wawasee School Board Tuesday evening, Oct. 9, …read more.

SYRACUSE — Alan Tehan has been described as a “visionary.” He is thinking years ahead and instead of thinking of all the reasons something can’t be done, he focuses on how he can make things happen. Tehan has been actively involved in some of the career and technical education programs offered through the Pathways Cooperative …read more.

SYRACUSE — School districts statewide are often overwhelmed by the emotional and social needs students face. Those needs have increased in recent years especially due to the opioid addiction crisis and other factors families are dealing with. To address this problem, Lilly Endowment launched a counseling initiative in September 2016 and began awarding grants to …read more.

SYRACUSE — Some of the career and technical education programs of the Pathways Cooperative based at Wawasee High School are either at full capacity or have exceeded it. To address that, the Wawasee school board approved the purchase of three buildings and surrounding property in Syracuse during a special board meeting Tuesday afternoon, June 26, …read more.

SYRACUSE — Beginning sometime after Labor Day, visitors to any of the schools in the Wawasee Community School Corporation will experience something much different than they’re used to. Security upgrades will mean visitors will be greeted by Raptor, a new camera system. The Wawasee school board was given a brief report about Raptor during the …read more.

SYRACUSE — During an unusually brief meeting Tuesday evening, July 11, in Syracuse, the Wawasee school board awarded two construction bids. R. Yoder Construction’s bid of $536,942 was accepted to transform the former Veterans of Foreign Wars building in Syracuse into spaces to be used for vocational purposes including welding and gone boarding classes. R. …read more.

SYRACUSE — When voters go to their polling locations Tuesday, Nov. 8, to vote for Wawasee school board candidates, they will choose from among five candidates seeking the two at-large seats.

SYRACUSE — Less than a year from now, barring any major obstacles, students and staff will fill a brand new elementary school in Syracuse. Work is progressing well and even ahead of schedule at the new Syracuse Elementary School on Kern Road, projected to be ready for the start of the 2017-18 school year.

SYRACUSE — Some Wawasee High School students in classes taught by Jeremy VanLue and Phil Huffman have entered the #kickRXabuse video challenge. A brief report was given to the Wawasee school board during its regular monthly meeting Tuesday evening, Oct. 11, in Syracuse.

SYRACUSE — During the Wawasee school board meeting Tuesday, Sept. 13, in Syracuse, the board heard a brief report from Jim Evans, director of finances for the school corporation. Evans noted about a year ago an agreement was entered into with Akeso Care Management in an attempt to try to reduce medical insurance costs for the school corporation.

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.

SYRACUSE — During the regular monthly meeting of the Wawasee school board Tuesday, the board was given an update on construction projects by James Flecker, school corporation attorney.

SYRACUSE — Longtime Wawasee school board member George Gilbert said he will be resigning effective with the next regular monthly meeting of the board July 12. The intended resignation was announced at the regular monthly meeting of the school board Tuesday evening, June 14, in Syracuse.

SYRACUSE — During a very brief special Wawasee school board meeting late Tuesday afternoon, June 7, in Syracuse, the board approved the resignation letter submitted by Mike Schmidt, principal of Wawasee High School. Schmidt’s resignation will be effective June 30.

SYRACUSE — During a special meeting of the Wawasee school board Tuesday evening, April 12, in Syracuse, the board approved two new high school coaches and awarded two more summer construction bids.

SYRACUSE — During a special Wawasee school board meeting held at the unusual time of noon Tuesday, March 22, in Syracuse the board approved awarding a construction bid of $1,096,900 to Milestone Construction of Syracuse for renovations at Milford School this summer.

SYRACUSE — Other agenda items considered by the Wawasee school board at its Tuesday, Feb. 9, meeting in Syracuse included:

SYRACUSE — Winter will not be officially finished for more than a month, but school administrators are already planning summer construction or renovation projects for Wawasee schools. During the regular monthly meeting of the Wawasee school board Tuesday evening, Feb. 9, in Syracuse, the board approved architectural firm Barton-Coe-Vilamaa to begin advertising for bids for capital funds summer projects.

According to a projected timeline, a new Syracuse Elementary School will open by the fall of 2017. When that occurs, it will leave a nearly 100,000 square-foot facility empty of students. During a public meeting held late Monday afternoon in the lecture room of Wawasee High School, suggestions were offered on how the current Syracuse …read more.

James R. Flecker has joined the Syracuse law firm of Green, Cates & Grossnickle LLP. Flecker, an Elkhart native, studied at Ball State University earning his bachelor’s degree in economics and political science and an associate’s degree in foundations of business. He then went to law school at Valparaiso University and received his Masters of …read more.