New Valpo school leader promises to rebuild trust

VALPARAISO | Michael Berta, interim superintendent of Valparaiso Community Schools, has had a busy week learning his new surroundings, and it ended Monday with a visit to the City Council meeting.

Superintendent leaving Valpo Schools

JEFFERSONVILLE | Valparaiso Community Schools Superintendent Andrew Melin says he will be leaving the area before next month.

Valpo school chief named finalist for Jeffersonville school superintendent post

VALPARAISO | Valparaiso Community Schools Superintendent Andrew Melin is a finalist for the superintendent's job at the Greater Clark County Schools in Jeffersonville.

Parents question fairness of Valpo school cuts

VALPARAISO | With details of an approved budget balancing plan trickling out, Valparaiso Community Schools parents are questioning whether there's parity in cuts being made to athletics and the arts.

Valparaiso School Board approves principal shuffle

VALPARAISO | Different faces will be found in a number of principals' offices come August.

Valpo council seeks public comment on schools

VALPARAISO | The City Council hopes to get a good pool of School Board candidates from which to pick, but first it wants to hear from the public about qualifications.

Valpo schools promise to improve despite challenges

VALPARAISO | The annual state of the schools presentation to the City Council on Monday recapped steps the board took to tidy up its financial house and came with a promise that the schools will improve despite the challenges ahead.

EDITORIAL: Audit reinforces need for elected board

The recent State Board of Accounts audit of Valparaiso Community Schools is very revealing, showing a number of administrative procedural issues must be dealt with.

GUEST COMMENTARY: Ways to plug Valpo schools' spending gap

Superintendent Andrew Melin identified $6 million in four Valparaiso Community School Holding Corp. accounts. Accessing and transferring these funds have restrictions under current rules: a) only reimburse capital projects which occurred over the past 18 months and b) only a limited dollar a…

Sponsorships Valpo schools deficit cure?

VALPARAISO | With about 40 people in the audience Monday, the city's School Board gave the council a quick lesson in how it plans to reduce spending to eliminate a $3.2 million deficit over the coming year.

TIF funds won't solve shortfall in Valparaiso schools budget

VALPARAISO | There is a $3.5 million budget shortfall in Valparaiso Community Schools, and the city has about $5.4 million in property taxes tied up in tax increment financing districts, which some residents have said could help the schools.

GUEST COMMENTARY: Valpo must take immediate action

I have attended the last two board meetings held by the Valparaiso Community School Board. As a parent of two children who attend Valparaiso schools, as a former Valparaiso administrator, and as a current school superintendent, I feel there has been way too much finger-pointing and too littl…

Valpo schools look to trim $2M from budget

VALPARAISO | Valparaiso Community Schools will begin an "expenditure reduction process" aimed at cutting about $2 million from the 2012 budget.

Valparaiso school grades explained

Last week, I had the opportunity to share information related to the Indiana Department of Education's recently released rankings of school corporations. This week, we want to inform our community of our individual school rankings.

EDITORIAL: Provide a scoreboard for school board

The new multimedia scoreboard at Valparaiso High School holds promise as an innovative answer to the difficult question of how to raise money to replace costly school equipment without raising taxes. But the Valparaiso School Board failed to assert its right to review that type of decision b…

Schools wrestle teens texting, social media use

As tweens and young adults navigate the world of social media, educators and parents want them to be responsible and safe. But just what that means and how to achieve it has become complicated, reflecting an increasingly complex social landscape.

New school laws create competition

As school begins this month, legislation that was passed in the 2011 session will have a widespread impact on schools across Indiana. But the jury is still out on whether the new initiatives will have a positive impact on student achievement.

Growing list of NWI schools use late starts

Valparaiso Community Schools will join a growing number of region school districts starting the school day later on Wednesdays each week to give teachers time to meet and review instructional data, assessments and teaching strategy.