Superintendent briefs board on bills affecting schools, will return cost estimates for device rules

Superintendent Dr. Varacco told the Lake Central School Corporation board Feb. 2 that administration is following multiple bills this legislative session that could affect district operations.

On SB 159, which addresses safety controls for school-issued devices, Varacco said the district has asked technology staff (Mr. Moreno) to estimate the cost of software upgrades so the community understands the fiscal impact. “I do have Mr. Moreno looking into the cost to upgrade our software to meet the intent of this law,” the superintendent said, adding staff will report back when estimates are ready.

Varacco also flagged SB 270, a bill that would merge certain townships; he said roughly 315 to 330 of 1,008 townships could be targeted under the current metrics and that the district will monitor how any change could affect local services. He reviewed HB 1004 (a broad deregulation bill) and said AED requirements were briefly removed but later restored; the district will keep enforcing AED maintenance and annual checks. Finally, Varacco described SB 88 as containing various education mandates (curriculum and record-keeping items) and said the district will continue to follow developments and clarify implementation steps.

The superintendent said administration is pursuing meetings with locally elected officials before the end of session to discuss property tax reduction proposals that could take effect in 2027–28. Staff promised another legislative update in roughly two weeks.