MSD Warren Township board hears updates on redistricting, transportation and student supports; approves several policy changes

Warren Township’s school board convened Oct. 20 at Warren Central High School for a meeting that combined community recognition with operational briefings and a series of policy votes.

Superintendent Dr. Hansen opened the meeting with a moment of silence for a recent Warren graduate and transportation employee who died in a gun-violence incident, and reviewed upcoming community events, including a safety and health fair. "Please join me in keeping Kavan and his family in our hearts and prayers," Dr. Hansen asked the board and public.

The board recognized student athletes and staff: the Warren Central Unified Flag Football team celebrated a historic season that included an undefeated regular season and a state runner-up finish; individual athletes received all‑state honors and coaches were singled out for leadership. Adult-education instructor Brenda Gaston was presented with the Indiana Association of Adult and Continuing Education’s outstanding-instructor award.

Transportation and safety

Director of Transportation Lynn Storm and garage supervisor Austin Feldner gave a detailed update on the district’s bus fleet and safety practices. Feldner reported the district operates a fleet of 145 buses, roughly 104 of which are propane-powered (about 71–72% of the fleet), and said the district added 11 new buses this year (a mix of diesel and propane) plus two replacement activity buses. Storm said infrastructure upgrades include completing a propane fueling expansion (now a single 18,000‑gallon tank with extra dispensers) and installing a new bus wash.

Storm outlined driver certification and safety procedures: drivers must hold a Class B commercial license with school‑bus and passenger endorsements, maintain annual recertification and physicals, complete nonviolent crisis intervention and special-needs training, and participate in random drug and alcohol testing. "All of our drivers have to maintain compliance and ensure the highest safety standards," Storm said. The department also has Narcan available on buses and has run Narcan training, although staff reported it has not yet been used in the field.

Technology: Synergy Analytics and MTSS

The technology team described the district’s switch to Synergy Analytics and the MTSS module to give teachers and administrators real‑time access to attendance, grade and early-warning dashboards. The presentation illustrated role-based dashboards, a teacher-facing drilldown from summary charts to individual student data, and early wins — for example, quicker identification of at‑risk freshmen and streamlined interventions.

Ken (technology staff) said the system provides ‘‘real-time student data’’ that helps counselors and intervention teams target students earlier than previous tools allowed. The district is piloting MTSS features such as check-in/check-out, emotion tracking, and a minor‑incident reporting workflow; at the time of the presentation the team reported roughly 36 active MTSS plans in pilot schools.

Enrollment management and redistricting timeline

Chief operations officer Marcus Clayton outlined a multi-step enrollment management initiative that aims to balance elementary enrollments and explore returning fifth graders to neighborhood elementary schools. The district has contracted demographers from Wolpert (referred to in the presentation) to complete capacity and demographic analyses; Clayton said the district hosted three community conversations in September that drew about 150 attendees and collected 134 email contacts for follow‑up.

Clayton described planned focus groups (transportation, school boundaries, special programs, staffing and others), said the demographer’s capacity study is the next critical item, and offered a working timeline that anticipates draft boundary options in late November–December and a board presentation of options in January. Board members pressed for clear deadlines for when the district will stop collecting feedback and finalize focus‑group membership.

Actions and votes

The board approved the consent agenda (minutes, financial reports, HR items, field trip requests, contracts and related items). A pulled financial-claim register item was moved separately and passed at roll call; the transcript records the motion as "carried... with one abstention."

During action items the board voted to adopt or update multiple policies presented in the meeting packet. Items recorded in the transcript included (policy numbers and descriptions as read aloud):

- Policy 20221, mandatory curriculum — motion carried. - Policy 2623, Student Assessment (iRead updates) — motion carried. - Policies 5222 and 5223, release time during school activities and religious instruction — motions carried. - Policy 2410, audio/video and digital recordings of meetings — motion carried. - Attendance policy 5200 and related updates (5600/5605/5610) reflecting legislative changes on excused absences and prohibiting suspension/expulsion solely for chronic absence — motions carried. - Policy 5517 language on unlawful harassment and bullying (retaining language on protected categories) — motion carried. - Policy 5771, search and seizure — motion carried.

Most motions were moved, seconded and announced as carried; specific roll‑call tallies were not given for each policy in the transcript except where noted (the financial claim register vote included one abstention). The board did not take opposing roll calls on the recorded motions; no policy was recorded as failing during this meeting.

Why it matters

The presentations outline several near-term operational changes that could affect families and staff: bus‑fleet composition and fueling infrastructure affect route planning and trip availability; the Synergy Analytics/MTSS rollout will change how teachers and counselors identify and intervene with at‑risk students; and redistricting conversations could change elementary school assignments, start times and transportation needs. The district’s stated approach emphasizes community engagement and multiple focus groups before any final boundary decisions.

What’s next

District leaders said they will publish focus‑group dates and invitations through district communications and the newsletters; Marcus Clayton said communications would be posted immediately following the meeting and carried in the Friday newsletter. The board will continue the redistricting work this fall and intends to present plan options to the board in January pending demographer and capacity‑study results.

Votes at a glance

- Consent agenda: approved. One pulled financial-claim register item approved with one abstention. - Policy adoptions/updates (20221; 2623; 5222; 5223; 2410; 5200; 5600/5605/5610; 5517; 5771): all motions announced as carried during the meeting (individual vote tallies not recorded in transcript except where noted).