Warren Local Schools Superintendent Kyle Newton, left, talks with Warren Board of Education President Debbie Proctor during Wednesday’s board meeting. The board unanimously approved a Memorandum of Understanding for the College Credit Plus program between Washington State College of Ohio and Warren Local School District, effective for the 2024-25 school year. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

WARREN — The Warren Local Schools Board of Education gave approval to its $37.1 million 2024-25 budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

The board unanimously passed the budget presented by Treasurer Melcie Wells as the FY 2025 Annual Estimated Resources and Appropriations for the 2024-25 school year. The new fiscal year will start July 1.

“Every school district is probably doing this now,” Wells said.

With the school building projects done, Wells said it was back to business as usual for the district for operations. The district will be undergoing contract negotiations next year so right now the budget is remaining constant with no significant raises that need factored in, Wells said.

Wells said the budget factors in what comes into the district from taxpayers as well as grants and other funding the district receives.

Warren Local Schools Treasurer Melcie Wells, left, presents her report on the 2024-25 budget during the Warren Local Schools Board of Education meeting Wednesday as board members Jesse Roush and Stacey Greenup listen. The board approved the $37.1 million budget which goes into effect July 1. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

The board also unanimously approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the College Credit Plus program between Washington State College of Ohio and Warren Local School District, effective for the 2024-25 school year as presented by Superintendent Kyle Newton.

“Every year a lot of our students participate in College Credit Plus which is the ability to take college level classes on their campus or on our campus,” Newton said. “It can be done through their teachers or our teachers or online.”

In order for the college and the district to be able to give credit for these classes, there has to be an agreement between the two stating that is what they are going to do, he said.

“They are our biggest partner,” he said. “We have a really good relationship with Washington State.

“We are going to be a satellite division of them in the near future.”

There is a lot of cooperation between the two to build and implement programming so students would be able to directly go to them. An education program is being implemented as well as programs with industrial technology.

“We are doing classes for students who want to go into teaching,” Newton said. “They can do a lot of classes on our campus then they can go to Washington State for a year and then transfer to a four-year institution and maybe get done at the college level in two years.

“With the teacher shortage, that is fantastic.”

There will be some classes offered at the high school for industrial technology and a chance to have dual credit coursework.

“It is a very unique opportunity,” Newton said.

They are entering the second year of a cybersecurity/information technology program.

“These are all college credit classes,” Newton said. “All of our students, from freshmen to seniors, in that pathway are perfectly aligned to go to Washington State.”

With these classes in place, a student could transfer to Washington State and be done with an Associate’s Degree program within a short time, he said.

“It is an exciting opportunity for that,” Newton said.