Warrick County school board adopts meal‑charge and investment policies, approves calendar, contracts and personnel actions

The Warrick County School Corporation board on Wednesday approved a set of routine but substantive measures, including a new meal‑charge policy, an updated investment policy, an affiliation agreement with Murray State University, a roof contract for Castle High School and the 2027–28 school calendar.

Board members voted to adopt Policy 5600 (meal charges) after a second reading. Under the policy the district will provide students who lack funds a regular reimbursable meal that meets USDA meal‑pattern requirements; the cost of such meals will accrue to the student’s meal account and a la carte purchases will be restricted for accounts with negative balances. The policy delegates administrative guidelines and collections to the superintendent and the food‑and‑nutrition manager and notes that parents or guardians may be held responsible for collection costs and attorney fees if the district pursues collection.

The board also approved Policy 6500, which governs investment of district funds. The policy requires investments to comply with Indiana law and State Board of Accounts requirements, directs the board of finance to meet annually on or before Jan. 31 as required by state law, and instructs investment officials to avoid transactions that could impair public confidence.

Other business approved by the board included: - An affiliation agreement with Murray State University to place speech‑language pathology students in Warrick County buildings for clinical practicum experience, approved after district staff confirmed the placements are for Murray State students’ supervised clinical experiences. - A vendor agreement with Lila’s Photo Booth Rentals to provide services for a fifth‑grade celebration through June 30, 2026. - Awarding the Castle High School roof project to Midwest Roofing and Sheet Metal as the lowest responsive and responsible bidder; board members said other school roofs that returned significantly higher bids will be reissued for bid in the fall. - Approval of the 2027–28 school calendar, which includes a full week fall break; the calendar will be posted online following board approval. - Acceptance of multiple donations, including a $26,080.94 inclusive playground glider and $8,906.25 in IXL site licenses for Newburgh Elementary, $2,000 from Newburgh Youth Basketball for Castle North Middle School athletics, and equipment valued at an estimated $1,225 for WPCC from Bellarmine University.

The board also approved a range of personnel actions brought forward by Human Resources, including certified hires, non‑certified hires and summer musical staffing; approved several leave requests; recorded transfers; accepted multiple resignations with effective dates; and recorded retirements, including the retirement of Dr. Holly Arnold, principal at Newburgh Elementary, effective June 6, 2026.

Board members made the motions and the votes were recorded as "motion carried" for each item. Where motions and seconders were recorded in the meeting, the minutes show movers and seconders for the main approvals (for example, the motion to approve Policy 5600 was made by Mr. Baker and seconded by Mr. France). The board did not record a roll‑call vote tally for each item in the transcript provided.

The meeting packet and the board’s approved calendar and policy documents will be posted to the district website. The board scheduled follow‑up meetings including a policy meeting and personnel committee meeting on June 8. The meeting adjourned after several final announcements.