Jeanette Wagner Explains the Family Advisory Committee to the Pocahontas County BOE

Jeanette Wagner, the Community-in-Schools Coordinator at Marlinton Middle and Marlinton Elementary Schools briefed the Board of Education about how the school’s Family Advisory Committee is attempting to make parents feel welcome to participate as partners in the schools. She said under this program, family members who volunteer in the schools are designated as Student Support volunteers, and are issued badges giving them access to help out in the schools.  She explained that one of the tools the committee uses to encourage family and community partners is the Community in Schools program, whose mission is to “surround the students with a community of support to empower them to stay in school and succeed in life.”

Wagner explained that this effort includes engaging family members and community partners such as churches to reach the students.

Wagner said that part of this effort also includes a county-wide bullying initiative which has been initiated in all five Pocahontas County schools, which incorporates the families as well as community members in conducting role-playing scenarios in the schools

Jamie Walker also addressed the board members with his concerns about how the board gave out $11,000 in supplements to four employees who the board determined had performed above and beyond their assigned duties. Walker said he has been trying, unsuccessfully so far, to determine what objective standard was used to select these four people out of the other one hundred and ninety employees of the schools for this supplement, when many of the other school employees, including himself, who go above and beyond their job descriptions daily. He talked about coming in over Christmas weekend to rebuild the sewer system at PCHS so that the school could re-open after the holidays, even though he is not technically trained or certified to do that, and all the unsupervised electrical work he is asked to do despite not being a licensed electrician. Board President Sue Hollandsworth told him he needed to discuss this with his supervisor, and she would also discuss it with the Superintendent.

Also at the meeting, the board approved Memorandums of Understanding with the following:

• School Days LLC, regarding food nutrition, and providing pre-school services for this school year.
• Youth Health Services, Inc., regarding a service agreement for them to provided services in the schools.
• The WVU College of Applied Human Sciences, School of Education.to provide student training experiences for student teachers.
• And the Grow Your Own WV Pathway to Teaching program.

They also approved for the robotics team for the Robotics Team to travel overnight on the following dates to compete in VEX Robotics Competitions:

• November 10-11 to Brooke high School
• January 19-20 to Ripley High School
• February 16-17 WVU

• And, if they qualify, to States competition in Fairmont on March 9-10.

They also approved to accept a settlement in the amount of $6829.00 -minus attorney fees, court costs, etc. with the Altria Group Inc, which is comprised of Vape companies.

The board members approved the recommended list of personnel actions, a copy of which can be found in the link to the official meeting agenda at the end of this story on our website, alleghenymountainradio.org.

To see the personnel actions approved at this meeting, click to this link: 10-24-23 Official BOE Agenda PDF