By Natasha Wilson
With the opening of the upcoming school year set for Aug. 19, members of the Pendleton County Board of Education received some good news at their latest meeting.
All board members were present for the meeting, either in person or by teleconference.
Charles Hedrick, Pendleton County Schools superintendent, informed the board members that Pendleton County Middle/High School was ranked first in West Virginia for its four-year graduation rate of 100% for the 2020-21 school year. PCMHS ranked second in WV in the 2019-20 school year.
Nicole Hevener, associate superintendent, announced the employment of 10 individuals. The board members unanimously approved Joshua Persson, itinerant elementary special education multi-category with autism certification at Franklin Elementary School; Josie VanMeter, custodian at PCMHS; Amy Wimer, part-time cook at FES and part-time custodian at PCMHS; Cyrena Harper, instructional support mentor at North Fork Elementary School; James Alt, middle school cheerleading coach at PCMHS; Madison Gargus, assistant high school volleyball coach at PCMHS; Jeremy Townsend, assistant high school softball coach at PCMHS; Pat Alt, accounts payable supervisor/child nutrition coordinator at the central office; Shannon Hartman, sign language interpreter extended school day events at PCMHS; and Lisa Vance, extra-curricular custodian at the central office and annex.
Hevener also announced the retirement of Dolly Rexrode, early childhood classroom teacher at Brandywine Elementary School, and six resignations; Mahala Alt, kindergarten teacher at NFES; Roger Kelley, itinerant health and physical education teacher at FES; Diana Smith, Work Exploration Program and homebound teacher; Debora Goldizen, substitute teacher; Judith Warner, substitute custodian; and Tricia Nesselrodt, third-grade teacher at BES.
Jacob A. Manning, attorney from Dinsmore Law in Wheeling, presented information to the board members regarding the WV Secretary of State policies on advocating for and against the excess levy, which will be on the November ballot.
The financial reports for the months of June and July were presented to the board members by J.P. Mowery, business manager/treasurer. Mowery highlighted several major purchases by the school system during these two months, including a forklift, a new camera system to improve the quality of online streaming of sporting events, two new school buses, a new phone system to call for substitute teachers and a grant writing service to permit school officials to apply for a $500,000 security grant.
Several items were discussed during the facilities update from Travis Heavner, including the painting of the front hallway at FES, remodeling of the bathrooms at the middle school, cleaning of the bleachers and repainting of blocks, replacing outdated kitchen equipment at PCMHS and landscaping.
Hevener provided an update on the planned activity buses. The buses would drop off students participating in extracurricular activities at PCMHS. The board members unanimously approved to post the planned run schedule.
The board members unanimously accepted the minutes from the July 5 meeting. The next meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Aug. 16 at the Pendleton County Board of Education Annex.
