Key Takeaways: Senate Enrolled Act 1 is expected to substantially reduce the district’s assessed valuation, lowering referendum tax revenue at the current 37-cent rate. Referendum revenue is projected to decline from $8.7 million in 2026 to about $7.1 million in 2031 if the rate is kept at 37 cents. The district’s consultant recommended asking voters to approve a maximum rate of 57.06 cents but to impose a lower tax rate designed to offset the effects of the new law and maintain stable referendum funding in each year (42.32 cents in 2027). Student handbooks at all three schools were approved, but the district is still waiting for Indiana Department of Education guidance before finalizing rules about student cell phone use at school. Administrators plan to gather input from teachers and then clearly communicate expectations to families.
Agenda with links to board documents
Topic Timestamps: YouTube Recording
- 5:12 Update from Food Service
- 15:21 Public Comment on Limiting Educational Technology Use at School
- 18:31 Consent Agenda
- 19:25 Approval of April Board Meeting Minutes
- 20:35 Referendum Planning
- 1:11:45 Approval of Resolution Regarding Auditor Certification
- 1:12:33 Approval of Medicaid Billing for Special Education
- 1:14:05 Approval of Contract with Purdue Speech Language/Hearing Services
- 1:17:49 Approval of JSHS Roof Replacement
- 1:22:15 Approval of Student Handbook Revisions
- 1:59:10 Approval of Policy H175 Questioning of Students
- 2:03:21 Discussion on Potential Policy on Use of Artificial Intelligence
- 2:14:06 Rescinded Final Neola Policy
- 2:16:36 Superintendent Report
- 2:19:39 CFO Report
- 2:21:12 Board Reports
The following is my summary of the public school board meeting, not the official meeting minutes. My personal thoughts and opinions are given in italics and represent my own views which do not necessarily reflect those of any other member of the school board. I identify myself as Mumford in the summary but use first person when describing my personal thoughts and opinions.
5:12 The regular meeting began with Food Service Director, Courtney FitzSimons presenting a Food Service Update.
15:21 Communication from the Audience (those who had signed up before the meeting began)
- Howell Li, parent, spoke about technology use in schools. He said that, as the parent of an elementary student, he has seen Chromebook use become a distraction, with students accessing both educational and non-educational content, emailing friends, using Google Docs, and not listening to the teacher. He noted that some states are considering laws to reduce the amount of time students spend using devices in school and increase time spent with paper and pencil.
18:31 Consent Agenda:
- Approval of the Agenda for the May 11, 2026 Regular Board Meeting
Approval of the Minutes of the April 13, 2026 Regular Board Meeting- The Church Annual Lease Agreement Renewal
- Food Service Bid Recommendation
- Field Trip: Football to Manchester University 6.22.26-6.24.26
- Personnel Report
- Accounts Payable
Mumford motioned to remove the April 13, 2026 Minutes from the consent agenda
Voted 7 out of 7 to approve the remaining items in the consent agenda
19:25 Minutes of the April 13, 2026 Regular Board Meeting: Mumford made a motion to add a clarification that the reason the board rejected all bids for the JSHS Roofing Project was “due to irregularities identified in the process.” This was the reason that the administration gave in the school board meeting and Mumford said that adding this reason would help clarify why all the bids were being rejected.
Voted 4 out of 7 (Austin, Lyle, and Witt opposed)
I’m happy that this passed. There was no discussion and the three board members who voted against this motion did not offer any explanation for why they were opposed. Three years ago when I was new on the board, there was strong opposition to my efforts to have accurate meeting minutes (2023 May 6:42, 2023 March 6:55, 2023 February 6:31). The meeting minutes are now more comprehensive and much more accurate. But it seems that there is still opposition.
20:35 Referendum Planning: Mike Reuter, a consultant from Policy Analytics, presented information about the district’s operating referendum and the financial impact of Senate Enrolled Act 1. He explained that the school district’s first referendum that passed in 2010 was written to allow the district to impose a tax rate of up to 43 cents per $100 of net assessed value, but that the district decided to set the rate at 37 cents. In 2017 and then again in 2023, the district asked for a tax rate of up to 37 cents. Both passed and the district decided to tax at 37 cents. Assessed valuation growth allowed the district to increase revenue while not increasing the tax rate.
Reuter explained that Senate Enrolled Act 1 is expected to substantially reduce the total assessed valuation of property in our district through 2031 because of an increase in the homestead deduction, new deductions for apartments, changes to business personal property taxes, and a new homestead residential credit. He explained that his firm completed a parcel-by-parcel analysis for our district and projected that the referendum assessed valuation will decline each year through 2031 and then will begin to recover. If the district continues collecting only the current 37-cent rate that it has since 2010, its referendum revenue is projected to drop from $8.7 million in 2026 to about $7.1 million in 2031.
Reuter suggested that one option would be to ask voters to approve a higher maximum referendum rate to offset the effects of Senate Enrolled Act 1. He modeled a scenario in which the district’s need for referendum revenue grows by 4% annually, which means raising $10.6 million in 2031. Based on the projected 2031 assessed valuation, he said the referendum tax rate needed to raise that revenue in 2031 is 57.06 cents per $100 of net assessed value. Reuter emphasized that this would not mean the district would collect the full 57.06 cents in the first year. Instead, the board would decide each year during the budget process how much of the approved rate to impose. He compared this to the district’s original referendum, when voters authorized 43 cents but the district decided to only collect 37 cents.
However, Reuter said the ballot language will likely create communication challenges for the district because the question must include the maximum rate and show the impact on a median-value home using the required assumptions. He used a $350,000 home as the median-value example and said that the ballot may show a referendum impact of $955 if the full maximum rate were collected in 2027. He clarified that his model does not anticipate collecting the full amount in 2027 and instead estimates a first-year rate of 42.32 cents, which would increase the referendum impact by about $78 compared to the current 37-cent rate. The district could consider passing a supplemental resolution before the election stating that it does not intend to collect the full maximum rate in the first year, which he said could help with community trust and communication.
1:11:45 Resolution Authorizing Administration Regarding Auditor Certification: Greiner asked the board to approve a resolution authorizing the administration to begin the auditor certification process, which is a required step in the proposed operating referendum timeline.
Voted 7 out of 7
1:12:33 Special Education – Medicaid Billing: Greiner recommended that the board approve the agreement with PCG Indiana Incorporated for special education Medicaid billing services for the July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027 term.
Voted 7 out of 7
1:14:05 WLCSC & Purdue Dept of Speech Language/Hearing Sciences Memorandum: Greiner recommended that the board approve an independent contractor services agreement with Purdue University’s Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences for speech-language pathology services from August 1, 2026 through May 30, 2027.
Voted 7 out of 7
1:17:49 JSHS Roof Replacement: Roth said the rebidding process for the junior-senior high school roof project is complete, and Windward Roofing and Construction was identified as the lowest cost and most responsive bidder. Work is scheduled to begin in June with work continuing into September. Witt asked what disruption the roofing project timeline would cause once school is in session, including whether the work would be loud. The response was that the plan is to complete as much work as possible over the summer by expediting submittals and reviews. Once students return, the goal is to have the bus corridor completed and to move materials through the back service entrance. Any overhead work would only take place when students are not present.
Voted 7 out of 7
1:22:15 Student Handbooks – JSHS Code of Conduct, JSHS Attendance, WLIS, WLES: The administration asked the board to approve the student handbooks for each school. Greiner explained that all three handbooks included a common updated student code of conduct section that had been reviewed by legal counsel to reflect changes in law and policy. He said the junior-senior high school handbook also included updates to the attendance policy, while the intermediate and elementary handbooks only had legislative changes.
Mumford motioned to revise the student code of conduct under “Right to Appeal” to add that families may pursue any remedies available under state or federal law, rather than only stating that “the Board of School Trustees shall not hear appeals from any student expulsion.” She said this wording would be more family-friendly because it would clarify that families still have options. Greiner said the administration was comfortable with the wording in the handbook but also had legal counsel review Mumford’s suggested wording and was comfortable with it as well.
Voted 7 out of 7 to include additional wording for right to appeal
Witt asked when teachers are involved in reviewing the handbook, weighing in, and giving feedback. Chad Rodgers, JSHS principal, said most of the proposed changes were minor and already reflected existing practice. He explained that when more significant changes are considered, such as attendance updates, administrators gather teacher feedback through tools like surveys and then seek additional input if more guidance is needed. Witt said the cell phone policy changes stood out to her because there has been so much discussion about student phone use. She said teachers likely have the clearest understanding of how those changes would work in the classroom and asked how their feedback would be included. Rodgers said the school is still waiting for state guidance on how the cell phone law should be defined and implemented. He said that once the guidance is available, administrators will determine what they believe is the appropriate approach for the building and then seek input from teacher leaders.
Mumford raised concerns about the makeup work policy for absences at the JSHS, saying that allowing only one day to complete missed work is unrealistic for students with heavy homework loads in addition to jobs, extracurricular activities, illness, or late returns from field trips. Rodgers said the current policy does allow teacher flexibility and that one day for each day absent has been the standard in districts where he has worked, but he would want teacher input before making any change. Austin suggested that the makeup work policy needs input from teachers and department heads rather than decided immediately, and all agreed.
Lyle asked whether the junior-senior high school handbook included language about locker searches, noting that it is included in WLIS’s handbook but not in the JSHS handbook. Locker searches are allowed under Indiana law even if this is not included in the handbook, but Lyle recommended including it in the handbook for transparency. Lyle motioned to add the locker and belongings search language from the intermediate school code of conduct to the junior-senior high school code of conduct, removing references to cubbies.
Witt said she was concerned that the discussion was moving into dangerous territory because the board’s role is to set policy for the corporation, not dictate specific language in the handbook. She said that if board members have concerns about the handbook, they should bring them to Greiner and ask him to work with administrators. Purpura asked if we could postpone the vote to approve the handbooks until next month to allow time for this process. Greiner said that the handbooks need to be approved at this meeting to be printed and ready for the beginning of school. Lyle said he understands Witt’s concern that board members asking for changes to the handbook falls outside her view of the board’s authority. However, Lyle said that the handbook would include inaccurate information and give families the wrong guidance if this issue is not addressed. Witt said that her opinion is that “this is out of our lane.” Purpura said that he would like consistency in all three handbooks and supports Lyle’s motion to add language to the JSHS handbook about locker searches.
Voted 6 out of 7 (Witt opposed)
Mumford suggested moving the handbook approval process to April in future years to allow time to address issues before voting to approve the handbook. She said that bringing the handbook forward earlier would give the board time to address concerns. Greiner said that he would do this in the future.
Greiner noted that the district still needs guidance from the Indiana Department of Education on cell phone policy requirements. After receiving that guidance, administrators will talk with teachers and develop a plan that is consistent where appropriate and individualized by school where needed. He said the district will then clearly communicate with families to ensure the schools are following the new legal requirements related to cell phone use.
In my opinion, this discussion was a good example of how a well-functioning school board works. No one tried to silence or shame board members for asking questions. School administrators shared their recommendations. Board members had different opinions about what to do and explained why. The decisions were made collaboratively instead of simply rubber stamping. This is so different from what used to happen in school board meetings. There was no discussion at the first WL school board meeting I attended in 2019 (this was back when I was a teacher in our district). The board voted to approve each item on the agenda with no discussion, including a request to approve firing teachers. There was no pushback, not even from the teachers union. With no discussion and no access to the school board packet, the public had no way to know what was going on.
I obviously do not agree with Witt’s view that we should have just voted to approve the handbooks with no changes, but I appreciated that this time she presented it as her opinion rather than as fact. I agree that it would have been better to discuss the issues in the handbooks in a work session before the school board meeting and then allow the administrators time to make revisions before bringing them to the board for a vote. But, Austin has been opposed to this which forces everything to happen during regular meetings.
Voted 7 out of 7 to approve all handbooks with the approved revisions
1:59:10 Second reading of Policy H175 Questioning of Students: This policy was revised after consultation with administration, law enforcement, and legal counsel. Witt explained that the policy committee recommended approval with an added sentence requiring consultation with the superintendent or designee when determining whether an emergency or protection of life or property justified removing a student from school property. Mumford asked whether the third paragraph should refer to the superintendent “or designee,” and Purpura made an amendment to add that wording in case the superintendent was unavailable.
Voted 7 out of 7
2:03:21 Policy E250 Use of Artificial Intelligence: Witt explained that the policy committee did not reach consensus on this policy. She said that one option is to delay the vote because existing policies already address plagiarism and ethical technology use, and another option is to approve a broad policy that would likely need to evolve. Witt moved to put the policy on hold, and Purpura seconded the motion. Mumford asked whether the district could create a community committee involving teachers, students, parents, and Purdue experts to help guide AI use in schools. Greiner and Roth said the administration planned to begin by gathering teacher input over the summer through a group of interested educators, then use that feedback to identify outside expertise, including possible Purdue partnerships. The board voted to postpone considering this policy.
Voted 6 out of 7 (Wang opposed)
2:14:06 Rescind Neola Policy 5540
Voted 7 out of 7
2:16:36 Superintendent Report: Greiner reported that a recent Canvas data breach does not appear to have impacted WLCSC, but the district temporarily disabled data connections between Canvas and the student information system as a precaution, notified its cyber insurance carrier, and will communicate with affected families and staff if district data is found to be involved. Greiner also shared that the transfer lottery was completed at the end of April, with 35 priority applicants for 24 available spots, resulting in 11 priority students being waitlisted. He said another 22 students who applied after the priority deadline were also waitlisted. Greiner added that the community phone survey would begin on May 14 through Morris Leatherman Company.
2:19:39 CFO Report
2:21:12 Board Reports
2:28:16 The meeting was adjourned
Upcoming Public Meetings in the Central Office Board Room, located at 3061 Benton Street:
- Retirement Reception: Monday, June 8, 2026 at 5:30pm
- Regular Board Meeting: Monday, June 8, 2026 at 6pm
This document is my summary of the public school board meeting, not the official meeting minutes. My personal thoughts and opinions are given in italics and represent my own views which do not necessarily reflect those of any other member of the school board. I identify myself as Mumford in the summary but use first person when describing my personal thoughts and opinions. Previous agendas, minutes, and audio recordings can be found at the WLCSC website.
Dacia Mumford 