As you may have heard, our school system will be taking over the majority of the county-run Special Education Units across the district. This is something we have considered for years, and after careful planning, we believe next school year is the right time to move forward.
This transition aligns with previous steps we’ve taken, such as hiring our own speech pathologists, paraeducators, and managing the Opportunity School. While we have always funded these services, bringing them in-house allows us to directly hire staff, ensure quality, and control costs—ultimately benefiting both our students and the district.
Over the past several months, Our Superintendent, Special Education Director, our building administrators, and treasurer have evaluated the need for special education instructors, paraeducators, and the financial impact on the district. Our goals are twofold:
To manage and supervise all Special Education Units—after all, these are our students in the classrooms.
To be as cost-effective as possible while maintaining high-quality services.
We have just posted several Special Education Positions that includes:
4 Multiage Classrooms at WES
3 Multiage Classrooms at Cridersville
2 Multiage Classrooms at the Middle School
1 Multiage Classroom at the High School
Each classroom will have one full-time special education instructor, one full-time paraeducator, and one part-time paraeducator—with additional paraeducators assigned as needed based on individual student support requirements.
We will be interviewing current county personnel who apply, as well as other interested individuals. Due to retirements and the creation of new positions, all openings will be posted and filled according to Wapakoneta City Schools’ negotiated contracts.
If you are wondering about potential budget cuts to Special Education based on the proposed budget bill...so are we! However, we hope that this move helps us to be be good stewards of the money that we receive regardless.
We are excited about this transition and look forward to continuing to serve our students with excellence!
Are you interested in applying? https://www.wapak.org/page/employment
We usually avoid political posts, but this issue is too important to ignore. Governor DeWine’s proposed budget for the next two years is NOT kind to public education.
📉 Key Funding Cuts for Public Schools:
Base Cost Funding: Drops 17.5% by FY 27
Special Education Aid: Down 9.4% in FY 26, another 8.5% in FY 27
Gifted, English Learner, and Career-Tech Education: Also facing cuts
Transportation Aid: Slight increase, but with a cut to the guarantee
Meanwhile, community and STEM schools, vocational districts, and private school scholarships (vouchers) are seeing major funding increases.
This is not just a Wapakoneta issue—this impacts 90% of Ohio’s students who attend public schools. We’ll share more details in the next post, but we need to take action. Public schools matter!
#OhioEducation #FundOurSchools
Kindergarten registration is quickly approaching. Please mark you calendars for March 10 and 14. We look forward to welcoming the class of 2038!
W.I.N. Success Stories
Interested in joining our AMAZING staff? Check out the job opportunities here: https://www.wapak.org/page/employment
Upholding a 33 year tradition, Congratulations to:
District Champion- Zane Russell
District Champion- Keyno Mendez
Caden Mellott- 3rd Place
Gavin Ridenour- 3rd Place
Wyatt Buell- 3rd Place
Coaches- Jason Rostorfer, Tyler Copeland, Logan Erb, Tyler Shipp
Congratulations, as you head to the State Tournament this weekend:
Eli Van Meter
Tyler Neely
Andrew Bennett
Caleb Miller
Logan Ferris
Caleb Huelskamp
Anthony Stelzer
Coaches- Brandon Kennard, Josh Wahl, and Brian Van Meter
Congratulations to:
Aubryn Schnarre
Riely Wernke
Sophia Rupert-Hecht
Paige McKenzie
Kaylee Hyde
Abby Sheipline
Delani Wireman
Coaches- Steve Rostorfer and Sam Wagner
W.I.N. Success Stories
Congratulations to our girls' bowling team on their district championship!
We are excited to congratulate Braydon Hower and his family on his signing to continue his football and educational career at Bluffton University. He will be majoring in education, and we want to express how proud we are of the young man Braydon has become. Wapakoneta City schools is confident that Braydon will do great things in his life. Go Redskins and Go Beavers!
One of the practices at Wapakoneta City Schools is to do "walkthroughs" of our classrooms as an administrative team. We get the opportunity to see our kids engaged in unique learning activities and our teachers doing what they do best. Today I had the opportunity to get into some of our high school classrooms. Our young people were learning about cellular processes, performing CPR, working through problems in Algebra, studying the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's, reading and analyzing British Literature, discussing French culture, and much more. We are privileged to have an outstanding staff across the district, and we are fortunate to have excellent students in our classrooms!
CES is gearing up for an incredible week next week!
W.I.N. Success Stories
W.I.N. Success Stories
Wapakoneta City Schools will be having school today after the delay.
Wapakoneta City Schools will be operating on a 2 Hour Delay on Friday, February 21.
This is a reminder that today will be a virtual learning day. Assignments will be posted by 10 AM for our middle school and high school students. Our younger learners should have choice boards or work provided by their classroom teachers.
WCS: We will be closed on Thursday, Feb 20 due to road conditions.
Wapakoneta City Schools will be operating on a 2 hour delay on Thursday, Feb 20 due to road conditions.