Valparaiso Community Schools

"It seems to me like we only have part of the picture right now, with the information given to us, but our job is to see where taxpayer funds are going and make sure that they're needed," council member Emilie Hunt said during Monday's meeting.

Valparaiso police say they've arrested six juveniles in connection with last Thursday's threats against local schools.

Police will be out in the Valparaiso area this week to bring awareness to school bus stop arm violations. The Indiana Department of Education believes that 2,530 stop arm violations happen every day in the state. That's in spite of clear regulations and severe penalties.

Most high school students are enjoying a winter break before returning to class in January. But a few are done with high school, after being allowed to graduate mid-school year.

Valparaiso Community Schools is already seeing an impact from its energy savings projects.

The removal of a Progress Pride flag from a Valparaiso High School classroom drew a number of impassioned comments during Thursday's school board meeting.

Last week's Valparaiso mayoral election will leave a vacancy on the Valparaiso Community School Board, and some community members already have ideas of who should fill it. Jon Costas will have to give up his school board seat when he returns to the mayor's office in January.

Local communities and school corporations are getting a funding boost for their public safety efforts. The U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) has awarded more than $334 million in its latest round of grants.

Valparaiso continues to attract young families, judging by the latest school enrollment data. The September count showed that Valparaiso Community Schools had about 6,471 students, 64 more than last September.

The Valparaiso School Board has finalized the 2023-2024 teacher contract. It raises the starting salary to $53,100, a $2,100 increase. Returning teachers get a $2,800 raise, plus a one-percent, referendum-funded retention stipend at the end of this semester.