With the summer break soon coming to an end, the Pendleton County Board of Education held its first meeting in the month of August last week.
After the Pledge of Allegiance, J. D. Wilkins, board president, asked Pat Godfrey, who had come to speak during public comment, to give the customary invocation. Godfrey prayed, “Protect, Lord God, those who are within their charge.”
Then Wilkins gave the rules and guidelines about the law on public comment period. He reminded all that elected officials cannot respond during public comment in any way. These laws are in place to protect those speaking on behalf of the public, but Wilkins acknowledged that the lack of engagement can prove frustrating.
Godfrey came to speak about his application for a posted English language arts and social studies position, stating that the day after he applied the position was changed to just English. Later, the position reverted back to English and social studies. He stated that he was the most qualified candidate possible for the combined position due to his years of experience.
He also questioned why he was not considered for a basketball coaching position previously. Godfrey requested a letter stating that he was not desired as an employee.
At the opening of his remarks, Godfrey stated that “if you have a complaint . . . you should also have a solution.” He closed by stating that board of education members should have direct involvement in the hiring process, either during interviews or receiving a list of rejected candidates when asked to approve hires.
Those suggestions made by Godfrey would likely violate West Virginia Department of Education guidelines on the limits of the purview of a board of education. In its July 8 report explaining intervention in Harrison County Schools, the WVDE stated that their board of education practiced “overreach into administration, including interference in staffing” and other administrative responsibilities.
This situation, the WVDE alleged, led to circumstances where certain school system employees with connections to board members were considered “untouchable.”
After the public comment period, Ben Puffenbarger and Bethany Whetzel, advisor, talked about their experiences at Future Business Leaders of America nationals. told Puffenbarger that “this makes us proud.” His experience is in another story in this edition.
Board members then voted on new hires for the coming year. This included Patrick McGregor, new principal at Pendleton County Middle/High School. He was hired when an administrative mistake by Frostburg State University led to previous hire, experienced PCM/HS educator Janice Heavner, being rejected by the WVDE.
Next, the board approved contracts with both EPIC and Pendleton Community Care.
During the treasury and finance reports, J. P. Mowery, PCS treasurer and chief financial officer, discussed the use of the streaming service Hudl. This service allows for online paid access to PCM/HS sporting events with the school receiving some revenues from it. PCM/HS’s athletic department also reimburses the school system for half of the cost of the $13,000 service.
The cost went up for the coming year with the addition of baseball and football to the package from Hudl.
Another discussion centered around the year by year stepping down of funds for Communities in Schools. State aid to the program, which provides supports for children in vulnerable environments, is scheduled to phase out by 2029.
Also noteworthy, Mowery shared that he had engaged in discussions with legislative leaders over for school systems in sparsely populated areas. He stated that State Senator Amy Grady, also chair of the senate education committee, told him, “I see nothing wrong with it.”
“But the state school board president said, ‘it’s asinine,’” he went on to share. Mowery said that with the school aid funding formula, “there will be a push for extra staffing.” The core of funding from the state revolves around payment for a certain ratio of students to faculty and students to other staff. Central office personnel are not considered in the formula.
Pendleton County Schools lost $150,000 in the 1,400 floor calculations. Previously, Pendleton and Pocahontas counties had similar school populations, so both were funded as if they had 1,400 students. Since, as Mowery explained, “Pocahontas fell faster than us,” PCS now receives funding for 1,382.
In the facilities report, Travis Heavner opened with praise for those whose work during the summer helped to get all school buildings in prime shape to open the year. “I appreciate the summer custodians and their work,” he said, adding that “it’s always a challenge to make sure we’re ready to open.”
He shared that Franklin Elementary School presented a specific challenge due to the presence of Energy Express and repair crews working through the summer.
“If you see some of those folks on that summer crew,” Heavner told the board, “tell them how much we appreciate them.”
Heavner also shared his thanks for the work of maintenance workers, detailing improvements to the landscaping of Brandywine Elementary School. There, workers removed dead shrubbery, planted grass, and are planning to remove old light poles and a walnut tree. He added that they will also perform some work to make the bus pick up area safer for children.
Appreciation was also expressed for the work of Dean Brothers in getting the football field scoreboard ready for football season. “We ran into some challenges because of the rain,” he stated, adding that hopefully the repairs will keep people “from having to jiggle the wires” to keep it functioning.
Sonny O’Neil, board member, asked about issues linked to “settling” of part of the FES building. Heavner reported that the section of building where settling had pushed some tiles out of place occurred because the original construction just placed “filler” under that section of the building. “There was nothing there to support the tile.”
“No one could really tell us why,” he shared, not even the West Virginia School Building Authority. Workers, however, placed sturdier materials under the section to prevent recurrence of the issue.
