The July 1 meeting of the Pendleton County Board of Education marked a number of new beginnings. First, it served as the first meeting on the first day of the new fiscal year. It also marks a point in the summer where the post mortems of the previous school year have passed and preparations for the year to come commence.
For Pendleton County, it also opened the era of Nicole Hevener as superintendent of Pendleton County Schools. In recent years, she has served as principal of Pendleton County Middle/High School and won 2023 Assistant Superintendent of the Year in West Virginia.
“We ask that You bless the entire system as we prepare for a new year,” asked J. D. Wilkins, board president, during the body’s customary invocation.
One of the first moves made came in changing the title of “school counselor.” The board voted to phase it out and phase in “school counselor/social worker” to reflect the changing role of that position in the system.
Along with other personnel decisions, the board voted to hire Charles Hedrick as an administrative mentor
During his financial report, J. P. Mowery announced that several buses of various sizes formerly used by Pendleton County Schools have been put out to bid as public surplus. He shared that the buses were “generally kept in good shape.” That said, “most of them will have to be towed” off site.
Travis Heavner then provided a facilities update. Cleaning was completed at PCM/HS with the elementary schools next to come. Personnel also sanded and waxed the gymnasium floor at North Fork Elementary School and will do the same at PCM/HS. Lockers in the middle school section were removed “so we could prepare for the new lockers to come.”
Discussion also focused on the damage to one room in the Harold Michael building in Circleville. Heavner stated that the damage poses no threat to students because “the room is isolated . . . it can be locked.” A pre bid meeting was scheduled for contractors who would like to receive the contract to repair it.
In the last Legislative session, a new law requires county school systems to have a policy on cell phone possession and use by students. Hevener stated that “I recommend we table that until the July 10 special meeting,” and the board concurred.
After sharing the new organizational leadership chart for Pendleton County Schools, Mowery shared results of the bidding process to repair the school bus garage parking lot. West Virginia Paving of Dunbar had the low bid at $66,800, almost $10,000 lower than the other applicant. This company has already performed work for Pendleton County Schools in Circleville.
Officials also heard the final tabulation on student numbers for the 2024-25 school year. The county once again added students, picking up eight. Hevener stated, “We actually added students, so that’s great.”
Sonny O’Neil, board member, commented that “we are one of the only counties in the state with higher net employment.”
