Washington Community Schools board accepts INDOT easement offer, approves personnel changes, surplus items and textbook adoption

The Washington Community Schools Board accepted an Indiana Department of Transportation property-acquisition resolution and approved a slate of routine personnel and operational items at its regular meeting.

Board members were told the INDOT action involves accepting $6,600 for a narrow strip of land and easement along State Road 57 needed for an INDOT renovation project currently scheduled for 2029; administrators said the district should receive the payment this calendar year and that maintenance of restored grass and sidewalks on the easement will be the district’s responsibility. The board voted to accept the resolution unanimously (6-0).

The meeting also included approval of multiple personnel items: the retirement of Julie Wodsworth (elementary teacher, hired 1997, 29 years of service), several resignations effective at the end of the school year, a leave request for Bailey Dearester, certified hires and a list of summer remediation teachers, and an extracurricular appointment of Alex Foy as high school head boys basketball coach. Each personnel motion carried on unanimous voice votes recorded as “6.”

The board authorized surplus disposal of several vehicles and equipment — including a 2012 spare bus described as beyond repair, a 2010 15-passenger bus and a 1989 utility trailer — to be offered at auction. Administrators said auction proceeds will be returned to the district.

Administrators presented a first reading of the 2026–27 student handbooks (junior high, high school, elementary, Little Hatch preschool and a virtual-school handbook) but took no action. The board approved a textbook adoption for secondary foreign language that will use the SAS curriculum at the high-school level and retain district-mapped materials at grades six through eight.

What happens next: The INDOT documents will be finalized and submitted as part of the acquisition process; administrators said the district expects to receive the purchase funds during the calendar year and will track next steps for easement maintenance and any property improvements.