Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
The Pocahontas County Board of Education returned to the board office for the April 16 meeting and also returned to the hot button issue of proposed cuts at Pocahontas County High School.
Before opening the floor to the hear callers portion of the meeting, board president Sue Hollandsworth gave an explanation about the RIF – Reduction in Force – process and said there are certain things the board members can and cannot discuss prior to the RIF hearings, which were scheduled for April 22.
“First, this came from the attorney,” she said, reading a statement. “Employees potentially impacted by personnel decisions have yet to have their statutory hearing before the board of education. No recommendations have come before the board of education yet in this process. So, we need to caution everybody – [board] members and those speaking – of the unique process set forth under the code that we do not discuss anything that has to do with people; only positions. If you slip up in that, I’m afraid your time is up.”
Hollandsworth then said that while the hear callers section is limited to five minutes per person, she had requests to extend the time for presentations and would allow it.
She added that the RIF process does not allow for the board of education or public to know about the proposed RIFs until after the hearings are held.
“It ties our hands on a lot of things and one of them is telling you all and telling us ahead of time,” she said. “When positions are RIFed, it is to be between the superintendent, the principal and the teacher. Period. That makes it tough.”
Nine individuals in total spoke concerning the proposed RIFs. Among those was Pocahontas County High School science teacher Justin Dilley, who was allowed more time to give a PowerPoint presentation about the science department.
Dilley corrected several statements made at the last board meeting and said that it would be very difficult for the department to provide all the courses needed if one of the science positions was taken away.
He added that the dual credit courses offered in the science department are offered through Glenville State University, which pays for the college portion of the classes.
Dilley explained that it would be impossible to combine AP courses into one class, explaining that the different disciplines – like chemistry and biology – are difficult to teach simultaneously.
In the presentation, Dilley shared a student survey to show how many students are interested in each science class slated to be offered next year. He said that if a position is cut, class sizes would be too big and a large group of students would be turned away from the classes they need to graduate.
The other speakers shared their concerns about losing a math position and science position, with most offering to provide help in reviewing the budget and help the board find ways to keep all positions for the next year.
They also shared their concern about the swiftness in which the RIFs take place and asked for the cuts to be stalled until solutions could be researched for a better outcome.
In reports:
• Superintendent Lynne Bostic gave a presentation the RIF process and shared West Virginia Code 18A-2-7A which explains that school superintendents must provide written notice to the affected employees before April 1. Those employees receive a letter and have a private meeting with the superintendent to discuss the possibility of a reduction or transfer.
The employees have the option to have a hearing before the board of education in which they can discuss the issue before the final decision is made. Those hearings and the final decision must be made by May 1.
Bostic said the process begins in the fall, with an assessment of numbers.
“You look at numbers in enrollment,” she said. “You look at numbers of students and staff in grade levels and subject areas. That started back this fall. You’re constantly monitoring grade level numbers. For instance – we do not have this situation – but if you had eighteen students in a first grade classroom and you have two second grade classrooms, you’re only going to need one second grade classroom the following year.
“So you start thinking about how that will work,” she continued. “You worked with your treasurer, budgeting, finding sources. We have a lot of different funding sources, and it’s kind of hard to explain when you see some people hired, it’s because we have different funding sources we use.”
Positions like coaches are federally-funded, so those positions don’t affect the number of employees who are paid out of the general fund.
Bostic said she works with the educational directors and principals to determine where the belt can be tightened and employees can either be transferred to another position or a position can be cut. From there, the superintendent works with the board attorney, Jason Long, to make sure that she is following code and policies when making the changes.
“That’s a quick overview of the process and these five board members, by state code – you cannot talk to them about the people or about the positions until the [April 22] meeting,” Bostic said.
• Student representative Riley Pollack gave an update, saying the SAT took place earlier in the day at school and all the students seemed prepared and had an overwhelming amount of support from the fellow students and staff.
She also reported that there is an issue with students, especially juniors and seniors, not getting the support they need in regard to preparing for ACT/SAT testing, as well as getting information they need for college applications and scholarships.
“I didn’t take the ACT/SAT prep class, so I didn’t have any idea when any of the dates were and I had no idea when to test or how to get said information to test,” she said. “Unless I was having a message relayed through my friends who are actually in the class.
“I was also told that students were denied registration forms to actually sign up to take the test, so they didn’t get the opportunity to do that,” she continued. “We, as students, a student body, are being shorted information that we need and that we’re required to have as students and as a school to kind of help along with that.”
Pollack added that the senior class does not yet know who the valedictorian, salutatorian or honor graduates are.
• Roger Griffith, with New River Community and Technical College, gave an update on the classes offered by the institution to PCHS. He said there are several pathways students can select from and they can take many dual credit classes toward that pathway. There is a new welding pathway being developed for next school year that Griffith said was developed partially with PCHS in mind.
• Josh Hardy and Tonya Pollack, members of the PCHS Local School Improvement Council – LSIC, gave a presentation on the proposed cuts at PCHS. They asked that there be better engagement between the board of education and the school and LSIC to ensure everyone is up to speed on any changes that may occur.
They also requested that there be more budget meetings to keep the public informed about any changes made due to financial shortfalls.
• Treasurer Sherry Radcliff gave a budget update and went through the multiple line items in the budget, explaining that expenses have increased and exceeded what she budgeted for them. She added that the ESSER – Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund – was discontinued and left a $1.5 million hole in its wake.
Radcliff also shared a comparison of past budgets to the current budget explaining that expenses have increased and some funding has decreased. In 2016, the board had $16 million in expenses for the entire fiscal year from July 2016 to June 2017. The 2022-2023 fiscal year expenses were $21 million. The 2023-2024 fiscal year expenses, thus far, are $14 million.
After Radcliff’s presentation, she asked if there were any questions and board member Sam Gibson said he had several.
“I just don’t understand why we as an education institution, the first thing we look at is cutting…” he began.
“Let’s not get into that tonight,” Hollandsworth interjected.
“No, let’s get into this tonight,” he continued. “We’re talking about RIF. I’m talking about people’s jobs here.”
Hollandsworth banged the gavel twice and addressed Gibson.
“We cannot discuss that before we have the hearings,” she said. “You can recuse yourself. We cannot discuss certain things before the affected personnel have their hearings. After that, you can discuss anything.”
Gibson chose to remain in the meeting and change the subject.
At the end of the meeting, during the matters from the board portion of the agenda, Gibson once again tried to turn the discussion to the RIFs.
“I’ve got a lot of things,” he said. “I want to start with – we just sent a bunch of kids to the state social studies fair, which is really cool.
“This RIF thing,” he continued.
“Don’t even go there,” Hollandsworth interjected.
“Yes ma’am,” Gibson replied.
Also during matters from the board, board member Becky Campbell shared her appreciation for the respect and poise shown by those who spoke concerning the proposed cuts.
“I thank everybody for being so respectful,” she said. “Not one person was out of line and this is tough on all of us. It’s tough and hopefully we can all work together to get through this, because it’s not easy on any of us.”
In financial management, the board approved following:
• Tax Levy Estimate, effective for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2024, and ending June 30, 2025, rates as follows: Class I – $19.40; Class II – $38.80; Class III – $77.60; and Class IV – $77.60.
• Payment of vendor listing, payment of local government purchasing card, employee payroll, grant awards and budget adjustments.
In miscellaneous management, the board approved the following:
• 2024-2025 School Calendar.
• Overnight trip with seven FFA students to Cedar Lakes, on April 18 and 19, for the WV Envirothon Competition. Transportation will be provided by private vehicle with Andrew Friel and one female chaperone.
• Trip with the forestry class to Mountain Gateway Community College in Clifton Forge, Virginia.
• Bid for Gordon Food Service/HPS as the vendor for the Country Roads Food Cooperative.
In personnel management, the board approved the following:
• Resignation of Tom Dennison as head boys basketball coach at Green Bank Elementary-Middle School, effective at the end of the 2023-2024 season.
• Resignation of Kenneth Beezley as head boys basketball coach at Marlinton Middle School, effective at the end of the 2023-2024 season.
• Resignation of Scott Garber as head boys basketball coach at Pocahontas County High School, effective at the end of the 2023-2024 season.
• Request to transfer Noah Pugh as school bus operator for Pocahontas County Schools from his current run to a new run.
• Employment of Jacob Dunbrack as school bus operator for Pocahontas County Schools.
• Employment of Richard McLaughlin as mentor for Alexandryl Hummel at Pocahontas County High School and Marlinton Middle School, effective for the remainder of the 2023-2024 school year and for the first three grading periods of the 2024-2025 school year at a rate of $625.
• Employment of Brianna D. Sharp as substitute teacher for Pocahontas County Schools, at state basic professional salary, based on degree and experience, for the 2023-2024 school year, as needed.
• Employment of the following probationary contract service personnel for the 2024-2025 school year: Stephanie Ames, Diane Arbogast, Kimberly Balance, Haley Cummins, Tabatha J. Ellis, Christopher Irvine, Kimberly Jordan, Julie Markley, Forest Mullenax, Mason Owens, Noah Pugh, Trista Robinson, Arthur J. Sharp, Darrell Shinaberry and Tiffany Wayne.
• Employment of the following continuing contract service personnel for the 2024-2025 school year: Katie Broce, Loretta Irvine, Joseph Judy, Joseph Rose and Michael D. Sharp.
• Employment of the following probationary contract professional personnel for the 2024-2025 school year: Kristin Baer, Eleanor Bell, William Brown, Amanda Buzzard, Sarah Hamilton, Alexandyr Humel, Melissa Jordan, Kaylea Kelley, Wendy Kirk-Picarella, Krystal Lewis, William Meehan, Melissa Robinson, Melinda Ruth, Jennifer Stewart, Jonathan Taylor and Tina Tracy.
• Employment of the following continuing contract professional personnel for the 2024-2025 school year: Kristi Hammons, Darla Huddle, Charlie Hughes, Michelle Rose, Cynthia Solak and Melissa Walker.