The Red Devil Pen

Red Devil Pride, or RDP for short, is about our community coming together to celebrate the big moments and the daily life in our West Side Schools.

We thank and appreciate all of YOU, our WL and WLCSC community members, who support our schools - from near and far, directly and indirectly - in countless ways. The investment and trust you put in our schools is the foundation for the work we do. The relationships we develop with one another as school staff, community members, students, and families are our greatest source of RDP.

"One book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world" - Malala Yousafzai

We are starting 2024 celebrating one of our WLHS Seniors being named a top 300 STEM Scholar in a nationwide science talent search! WLCSC is so proud of you, Josh!

We have created a way for WLCSC families and community members to Appreciate, Recognize, and Thank (A.R.T.) our WLCSC employees through filling out a google form. We have had this in place for employees wanting to recognize their colleagues, but we wanted to open it up to our community as well. Read below for more information and the link to the form. Thank you!

Appreciative and supportive communities and families help employee retention, boost job satisfaction, and contribute to positive and healthy school cultures - all of which indirectly benefits our students. We invite our families and community members to recognize anyone who works in the WLCSC.

We hope you will join us in showing appreciation for those in our schools whose difference making reaches you on personal level!

• Send appreciation with your name or anonymously.
• Of course, the monthly difference maker program does not replace a kind word or a personalized communication; we just wanted to provide our supportive community another opportunity to connect.
• Please send appreciation by the 15th of each month.

Navigate HERE to fill out a short recognition form and send some smiles to those who work so hard for our students and schools.

The 2024 budget for West Lafayette Community Schools was recently approved by the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF). Approval means that our budget for expenditures and final property tax rates have been set for the 2024 calendar year. The table below shows the estimated budget and tax rates that were approved by the Board of School Trustees at its October 9th board meeting compared to what was approved by the DLGF. The Rainy Day Fund and Education Fund do not have tax rates as they are funded through the State of Indiana or other means but are considered main funds in which the budgets are advertised for the public and approved by the DLGF. The total approved tax rate is lower than the estimated tax rate as the final assessed value for properties was higher than originally estimated.

Each fund can only be used for specific items as outlined in state code. The Education Fund, mostly funded through the State of Indiana, is used to pay for any items that pertain to the education of students such as the salaries and benefits of teachers and other school building staff, educationally-related programs (special education, school media centers, nursing, etc.), educational contracted services, and supplies/equipment needed in the school buildings. Our recently-approved Referendum Fund was approved in 2024 to be used for the wages, salaries and benefits of teachers and educational support staff such as custodians, maintenance workers, and bus drivers. The Debt Service Fund is a property tax fund that can only be used for the payment of bonds that have been taken out to fund capital expenditures and construction projects for the school corporation. The Operations Fund is a property tax fund that can only be used for non-educational expenses such as central office expenditures, human resources, facilities and transportation. This Fund is limited to a certain maximum amount set by statute as well as the effects of property tax caps. While a school corporation does receive funding from other sources such as state and local grants, the funds listed above cover the majority of expenditures of a school corporation’s operations on an annual basis.

The January Board meeting was January 8th at 6pm. During this meeting, a new President (Amy Austin), Vice President (Brad Marley), and Secretary (Tom Schott) were voted in. The next School Board meeting will be Monday, February 12th at 6pm.

Below is a message from WLCSC School Board President, Amy Austin.

Hi Friends!

In February, the Board will begin reviewing and condensing our policies so that they will align with our legal representation's recommendations, and so that they will be easier for everyone to refer to and understand. Right now, if we have a policy that covers every employee in the district, identical policies are found in the administration, support, and certified staff sections. For example, we have basically identical policies under "military service" in each section (PO 1537, 3437, and 4437). This is redundant, and puts us in a position where every time one thing changes, we have to cross reference policies to make sure they're internally consistent. Going forward we will have one policy about employee military service, instead. We expect this process to take at least a year, but in the end it will be easier for everyone.

After a search that included administrators, board members, teachers, parents, and students, we have an exciting candidate for principal at the Junior/Senior High! We'll be introducing this person to you soon, once everything is finalized. I'm confident that our new principal will be a wonderful addition to our school community. I'm grateful to everyone who served on the committee. The search process has been an illustration of Dr. Greiner's commitment to hearing all the voices in our community. The students, especially, did an outstanding job of representing our student body. I will never stop being bowled over by how phenomenal our students are! Our new principal is so lucky to be able to work with such a great group of young people.

The state legislative "short" session is underway, and is expected to last until mid-March. The difference between a "short" session and a regular session is that a short session doesn't include budget changes (those happen every other year). Watch this space, because next month I will have an action item or two for you regarding pending legislation. I very much hope that it will be, "Please write or call your legislator and thank them for..." something. I'll be attending frequent legislative updates by the Indiana School Board Association (ISBA) and by our local Chamber of Commerce, as well as the ISBA's annual Statehouse Day, where we learn about pending legislation and talk with our representatives over lunch. This is a big part of our job as a school board - we take our local concerns to Indianapolis and advocate on behalf of our local students and teachers. It also happens to be one of my favorite board assignments, because I feel like my advocacy helps students and teachers all over the state. (And there are a lot of nice lunches involved. I don't think any of the other committees get as many lunches).

Before I close for this month, I'd like to thank Rachel Witt for her dedicated service as board president. Rachel has been a mentor to me since my daughter, a current senior, was in kindergarten. I've learned so much from her over the last 13 years, and I feel fortunate to have had opportunities to work with her in many capacities. She has always been a role model of dedicated and selfless service, and I hope that I can do half as good a job, as president, as she has done over the past two years. Thank you, Rachel.

Use a #2 pencil, put your name on your paper, double check your work if you have extra time, use your inside voice, slow down in the school zones, stop eating the glue, and remember to be bucket fillers.

Warm regards,

Amy Austin

Board President

School Board documents and information are always available to our community on the district website.

• Agendas can be found HERE. Agendas are typically available at least 72 hours before a meeting.
• Minutes can be found HERE. Board minutes will be available once they have been reviewed for accuracy and officially approved by vote of the board.
• Community Questions can be found HERE.

Come join our team as a substitute teacher! Teachers and students need and count on substitute teachers. Our schools offer safe and supportive working environments.

• Schools count on substitute teachers to provide consistency for the children in the classroom.
• Schools count on substitute teachers to keep the daily work of teaching and learning going even when the permanent staff cannot be there.
• The WLCSC values our substitute teachers!

Click HERE to learn more and start the application process TODAY!

Important Upcoming Dates for WLSEF:

• February 1: WLSEF Scholarship Application Deadline for graduating seniors
• March 27: Red Devil's Give Back Day/WLSEF Day of Giving
• April 12: Wall of Pride Class of 2024 Induction/Convocation
• April 19: Scarlet & Gray Dinner and Auction
• April 25: Nobel Prize Celebration Day with Dr. Moungi Bawendi '78

More details to follow from the WLSEF executive director, Wendi Ailor. If you have any questions, you can email or call Wendi at wlsef@wl.k12.in.us or 765-269-4007.

We would love to feature more photos in our monthly collage!

If you have a photo of a school activity to share, please send the photo, your name and a brief description (who, what, when, where) to socialmedia@wl.k12.in.us

The email account is not monitored but is checked periodically. We will use selected photos in our newsletter and social media outlets.

There are so many great things happening in our West Lafayette Schools! We are eager to share the many sources of Red Devil Pride through the Red Devil Pen newsletter so that we may celebrate, learn and grow together as a community in support of our students and schools.

Did you know that you can subscribe to this newsletter?

We invite you to subscribe today to receive updates from WLCSC directly to your inbox.

Follow this link to directions on how to subscribe:

https://help.smore.com/article/643-subscribing-to-a-newsletter

We will still continue to send out the newsletter via social media and as a direct communication to families of students via a Skyward email, but we want to ensure that we can remain connected to our community in as many ways as possible.

Education is a community endeavor, and we strive for continuous improvement in all we do for the benefit of the students we serve. If you have questions, concerns or ideas, please reach out to our school or district offices.

West Lafayette Community School Corporation 765-746-1602

West Lafayette Junior Senior High School 765-746-0400

West Lafayette Intermediate School 765-746-0500

West Lafayette Elementary School 765-464-3212

Website: https://www.wl.k12.in.us/
Location: West Lafayette, IN, USA
Phone: 765-746-1602
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wlcscrdp/
Twitter: @wlcscrdp

Instagram: @wlcsc_rdp