Photo by Jacob Perryman On Monday, the Warren County School District Board of School Directors held committee meetings and a special voting meeting of the board in anticipation of the start of school.

During Warren County Schools District board committee meetings Monday night, administration reported building work and personnel moves have left the district ready for students to return today.

A handful of last minute personnel hires and transfers largely shore up staffing shortfalls.

“The name of the game this time of year is hire, hire, hire,” District Director of Administrative Support Services Gary Weber said. “(We’re) down to one or two positions at this point.”

Among a number of position transfers, two additional certified instructors and three support personnel employees were approved by the WCSD Board of School Directors during a special meeting following committee meetings.

Requests for new positions including a part-time cafeteria helper for breakfast at Warren Area High School and a full-time individualized education program paraprofessional at Warren Area Elementary Center were also approved.

Shrinking student populations and an ongoing teacher shortage statewide have created staffing challenges for the district. As a result, a significant portion of school district personnel has only recently been hired. According to district Superintendent Amy Stewart, approximately 20% of professional staff has been hired since 2020.

During the meeting of the physical plants and facilities committee, it was announced classrooms in the district that remained “open” had now been enclosed, allowing usage.

It was also reported that the Youngsville Elementary School boiler project would be going out for bid again. An initial round of bidding in the spring did not gather enough response to move forward. Buildings and Grounds Service Operations Manager David Undercoffer assured the board most work would not involved student occupied areas and any that needed to be done would be scheduled to avoid disrupting students.