Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
At the November 12 Pocahontas County Board of Education meeting, superintendent Lynne Bostic shared good news about student and staff attendance for the first nine weeks of the 2024-2025 school year.
“I wanted to say that we really need to celebrate the students and staff that have a hundred percent attendance for the first grading period,” she said. “Each one of them received a postcard from me. We’re also working on some banners or posters to put in the school that had the best attendance for each nine weeks.”
In first nine weeks, 89 students had perfect attendance.
For staff, there were 45 members with perfect attendance.
“The county average for attendance was 90.12 and Green Bank had the highest school average for student attendance at 92.54,” Bostic said.
Bostic also reported that there are 114 homeschool students and 891 attending the public school system.
On behalf of directors at the board office, Bostic said the technology department is working on an emergency Wi-Fi program for Green Bank Elementary-Middle School which will open the lines of communication with emergency services when needed.
She added that Kristy Tritapoe asked her to share that the preschool department had only one area of concern in its recent review from the state and it is working to fix that.
In other updates:
• Math coach Joanna Burt-Kinderman and members of the Numeracy Team gave a report on the math department and how the teachers are collaborating to help students who are struggling with math skills.
In financial management, the board approved: payment of vendor listing; payment of local government purchasing card; employee payroll; extra duty pay; grant awards; summary of schedule of revenues and expenditures on a cash basis for the month; and budget adjustments.
In miscellaneous management, the board approved:
• Purple Heart Resolution for the 2024-2025 school year.
• Aaron Pugh and 60 students from Pocahontas County High School to go on a field trip to the Pocahontas County Courthouse and Marlinton Mayor’s Office November 15.
• Elective waiver for one senior student due to out-of-county transfer.
• Memorandum of Understanding between Pocahontas County Board of Education and the Pocahontas County Emergency Management/911 Center for access to school cameras to provide live situation awareness for first responders in the event of an emergency.
• Pocahontas County High School robotics teams to travel overnight on the following dates and locations to participate in the Vex V5 tournament: Morgantown, December 13-14; Ripley, January 17-18; Beckley, February 7-8; Huntington, February 28-March 1; and Fairmont, March 15-17.
• [Retroactively] Pocahontas County cheer team to travel with coach Bridget Koerber on an overnight stay in Bridgeport November 8 to participate in a regional cheer competition at Lincoln High School.
• Memorandum of understanding between Pocahontas County Schools and Glenville State University for the Dual Credit Pathway Agreement.
• Consultant services agreement between Pocahontas County Schools and Education System Solutions, Inc., Brian Withrow, president, to provide onsite coaching best practices for school administrators.
• Two additional fund-raisers for Green Bank Elementary-Middle School, for the 2024-2025 school year.
• County policies based on technical changes or changes in West Virginia State Code: 0131 – Legislative; 4115 – Job Descriptions; 1530.01 – Evaluation of School Leaders; 2414 – Drug Prevention and Violence Reduction Education Program; 3120.12 – Substitutes in Areas of Critical Need and Shortage; 3340 – Grievance Procedure; 4431 – Personal Leave; 5772 – Weapons; 8402 – Expected Behavior in Safe and Supportive Schools; 8640 – Transportation for Curricular/Co-Curricular and Extra-Curricular District-Sponsor- ed Trips; and 8670 – Transportation by Limited Passenger Vehicles.
• Parent and community volunteers.
In personnel management, the board approved:
• Retirement of Marilyn Beverage as teacher of kin-dergarten at Green Bank Elementary-Middle School, effective November 30.
• Resignation of Andrew Landers as school counselor at Green Bank Elementary-Middle School, effective October 28.
• Volunteers Jennifer Chestnut and Melissa Taylor as girls basketball coaches for the 2024-2025 athletic season.
• Unpaid medical leave for Dana Cutlip at Hillsboro Elementary School, effective October 31, for a period of up to 12 weeks.
• Volunteer Phillip Anderson as boys basketball coach at Marlinton Middle School, effective for the 2024-2025 athletic season.
• Employment of Robert Jordan as custodian III at Pocahontas County High School, effective October 28, for 155 days, for the remainder of the 2024-2025 school year. Term of employment shall be 220 days each year thereafter.
• Unpaid medical leave of Melinda Ruth at Pocahontas County High School, effective October 9, for a period of up to 12 weeks through November 20.
• Creation of position dean of students at Pocahontas County High School. Will require applicant to be enrolled in or to enroll in a school counseling program.
• Employment of Kimberly Murphy as substitute secretary/account for Pocahontas County Schools, at state minimum service personnel salary for the 2024-2025 school year.