Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
The November 14 Pocahontas County Board of Education meeting may have been at Marlinton Middle School for the Local School Improvement Council meeting, but the afternoon was filled with Warrior Pride as the Pocahontas County High School band performed for the board.
The band has gained a lot of notoriety this year due to the core nine members taking control and leading the band themselves in the absence of a director. The students shared their story with the board and talked about what they have been working on this semester.
Band sponsor Casey Griffith said the students received a visit from first PCHS band director Charlie Fauber, who made himself at home in his former classroom and spent time with the band.
“Mr. Fauber came and visited them,” she said. “He was the very first band director, so he was here for the beginning of the band. He wanted to bring them Christmas music. He just slipped in and made himself at home. He talked to them about when they started a band and what it was like.”
The band was also on the agenda to get permission to travel to James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The band was invited by the JMU alumni band to attend the football game and perform on the field at half time.
The board enthusiastically approved the travel request and wished the band the best of luck.
Superintendent Lynne Bostic gave a report on several items. She shared a snow days information sheet with the board and said it was also shared on the board’s website and Facebook page to give parents and guardians a better understanding of how it is decided to have snow days and/or delays.
Bostic added that she and treasurer Sherry Radcliff recently traveled to Washington, D.C., to discuss the need for continued funding of the Safe and Rural Schools program – known locally as the forestry money. She said the superintendents and treasurers from Pendleton and Greenbrier counties also attended.
They met with staff members and senators – including Senators Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito.
Bostic said they went with the National Forest Counties and Schools Coalition which includes people from other states that receive SRS funding, including Alaska, Utah, Washington and California.
In miscellaneous management, the board approved:
• E-Rate consulting agreement.
• parent and community volunteers.
In personnel management, the board approved:
• Resignation of Cynthia Shreve Kelk as teacher of science at Marlinton Middle School, effective November 17.
• Employment of Jessica McNabb as volunteer girls basketball coach for Marlinton Middle School, effective November 15, for the 2023-2024 athletic season.
• Unpaid medical leave for Abe Rittenhouse at Pocahontas County High School, retroactive to September 28, or upon exhaustion of personal leave, for a period of up to 12 weeks, as needed.
• Employment of Jennifer McCarty as homebound teacher for Pocahontas County Schools, effective to November 15, for the 2023-2024 school year, at $25 per hour, as needed.
• Employment of Jeanette Wagner as homebound teacher of Pocahontas County Schools, effective to November 15, for the 2023-2024 school year, at $25 per hour, as needed.
• Employment of Kelly Ann Buzzard, Patricia L. Plaugher and Elizabeth R. Hefner as substitute teachers for Pocahontas County Schools, at state basic professional salary, based on degree and experience, for the 2023-2024 school year, as needed.
• Employment of Charles McQuain, III, as extra-curricular school bus operator for gifted program, retroactive to November 13, for the remainder of the 2023-2024 school year, $60 per day, as needed.
The next board meeting will be Tuesday, December 5, at 6 p.m., in the board of education conference room.