2024_7-23_Agenda_Minutes.pdf

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The Pocahontas County Board of Education met on Tuesday, July 23, 2024 at the Pocahontas Board of
Education building, Buckeye, West Virginia for a regular Board Meeting at 6:00 PM.

Board Members Present:
Emery Grimes, President
Rebecca Campbell

H. Samuel Gibson

Sue Hollandsworth
Morgan G. McComb

Call Meeting to Order.
Open with the Pledge of Allegiance.

MINUTES
On the motion of Ms. Campbell and seconded by Mr. McComb, the Board unanimously approved the
Minutes from the Board of Education meeting held on June I 1, 2024.

AGENDA

On the motion of Ms. Campbell, seconded by Mr. McComb, the Board unanimously approved the
agenda. There are corrections by Superintendent Bostic: Ms. Carrie Bowers is unable to fulfill the
contract and asked that it be removed from the agenda. Under Personnel: The blank for the Principal at
Pocahontas County High School will be filled by Nicole Rose-Taylor. The interviews were completed
the morning of this Board meeting.

DELEGATIONS
None present

SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT AND SPECIAL RECOGNITION
Pioneer Days:

Superintendent Bostic expressed appreciation to:

e Karen Goldizen — loaned us a brand-new tent. This provided an opportunity for
Steve Saffel, farmers market, to set up on one end and the school system with
Adventure Pocahontas County under one tent.

e Karen Goldizen, Duane Gibson, Phillip Anderson, Kristy Tritapoe, and Devan
Burgess for setting up the tent.

¢ Stephanie Burns and Sam Gibson for joining Kristy Tritapoe, Tracey Valach and
Lynne Bostic to promote the school system.

® Phillip Anderson, Mr. Anderson’s brother, Sam Gibson, Karen Goldizen, and
Tracey Valach for helping dismantle the tent.

e Special thank you to Kristy Tritapoe for her enthusiasm and dedication.

Information was shared with many families and families from other states and counties spoke with us as
well. The free books were put in the hands of many children. This has given us ideas for future events
to tell our story.


Videos:

Kristi Hamons met with Superintendent Bostic last month and shared ideas for telling our story. Mrs.
Bostic expressed her appreciation for Ms. Hamon’s professionalism and creativity. The first video is
about Pioneer Days, followed by Energy Express, and next will be Marlinton Elementary School Building
Authority's projects. Watch our site for future videos.

Student Representatives for 2024-2025:

Joseph Van Meter (junior) and Riley Pollack (senior): Ms. Campbell spoke with these students, and they
are excited to propose a structure for the position that includes a senior as a mentor to a junior. They
will split the board meetings.

Audit:

Superintendent Bostic expressed appreciation to Sherry Radcliff for a positive audit for the fiscal year
ending June 30, 2023. The West Virginia Department of Education completed the review of the audit
report, and the report is closed. Either no findings were noted by the auditor, or findings were
adequately addressed.

Future:

The first administrators meeting will be held at the McClintic Library on August 2, 2024. The first day
back for staff will be August 12. Staff will be in their schools on August 12 and [3 then at the high school
on August 14 for a full day of training (8-4).

INFORMATIONAL REPORTS/CENTRAL OFFICE UPDATES

|. Kristi Hamons: Technology Boot Camp, Digital Signage, Social
Media, and Website Projects : Ms. Hamons had a conversation with
Superintendent Bostic on improving communication within the county. She
plans to present technology updates to the Board throughout the year.

General statistics in the technology department:

¢ one director and three technicians.

® manage about |,575 computers with 893 of those being student
computers and those are the ones requiring the most work.

e The department manages !,011 users and user accounts.

Major projects last year include:

e installing three new computer fabs using Tools for Schools funding, one
at Hillsboro Elementary School, Marlinton Elementary School, and
Marlinton Middle School;

e upgrading the 20 year old wireless system providing more contro! over
the network (funded with e-Rate).

e There were |7 network switches replaced, and E-Rate funds were used
for those as well.

e jimmy Chaney set up Apple School Manager which allows parental
controls to be used on the students’ devices.


e Clever Rostering Service is a free service that allows a teacher to
upload their class roster if they decide to use a website instead of having
to enter each student separately.

e The device insurance purchased by families paid 100% of the claims.

e The technology team is replacing about 180 devices at the High School.

e The school system will be switching from Live Grades to WVEIS
Gradebook. There will be access for students and parents to view
grades. Everything will be complete in one place.

e New Inventory System tandem with maintenance which will be able to
collaborate with other departments and should be ready early fall.

Technology Boot Camp:

This will be the 3% Annual Staff Technology Boot Camp on Monday, August
5. Usually have about 40 individuals in attendance. Topics will include: Al to
transform classroom planning, engagement with digital whiteboard, the new
WVEIS gradebook, Canva, and Office 365.

Digital Community Engagement. Informative and engaging videos are
being recorded for social media. The first video created had 4,350 plays.
The plan is to video Kasha, Green Bank’s therapy dog, using a GoPro on the
first day of school. Ms. Hamons and Mrs. Bostic are creating a running list of
video ideas they want to incorporate to keep the community engaged. We
want to streamline the website and consistently post information across all
platforms. The Thrillshare platform can unite all the social media platforms.
The website has been updated with some new resources. There is a
Pocahontas County Schools App that can be downloaded to your phone to
stay up to date on information. A presentation of the App was played for
board members. To use the website to engage the community with surveys,
contests, feedback for ideas and projects.

Digital Signage: They are hoping to utilize the old promethean boards
with an outreach for students showing activities and events in the High
School, This will be a collaborative effort with CIS to create another source
of information for the students. They are planning to place 6 boards at
PCHS. These boards will be able to share all the activities going on with
times and dates in one place as a helpful reminder placed where students
can easily access the information. This will help with better communication.
The Technology department is replacing 10 promethean boards with new
Live Boards that already have this technology built in so some of the screen
savers will have this capability in the classrooms. This will also have a
preempt for emergency capabilities. Another feature of the students’
computers are the QR scan codes that can be automatically scanned from
any of the slides running on these boards allowing immediate access to
information about scholarships, contests, etc. that may be available.

. Tracy Valach : Adventure Pocahontas - This is the fourth year of
Nature's Mountain Classroom. Mrs. Valach stated that the project has been
the most rewarding project of her life. She extended an open invitation to
the board for any of the adventures. The first group of students will be


completing the Adventure Pocahontas program graduating as fifth graders.
There have been some students that are inside types that have learned to
enjoy the adventures and even had some “wow” moments. She has
completed formal lesson plans for fall, winter and spring and that will be
presented to teachers once school starts. The US Forestry Department,
WVU Extension office and the libraries have been instrumental in bringing
this program to life along with the High Schoolers that help with the
younger students. The Marlinton Women’s club will be purchasing the first
round of books written by West Virginia authors that will be presented to
each student after the Adventure around the book. The authors will meet
with the students once all three adventures are complete.

The theme this year will be “Wild and Wonderful West Virginia” with plans
to make pepperoni rolls with Pro Start.

The third grade class went through the entire Junior Forest Ranger
curriculum and on the last day recited the oath and received their patches
and cards.

The Middle School sixth and eighth grade overnight adventure went to the
Science Adventure School at the Summer Bechtel Reserve and participated
in the!000 foot zip line and studied the science of hiking and biking. The
seventh graders went through the Hunter Safety Education course with
Matt Barkley. They took the online portion during their gym classes and did
the hands on portion at Thornwood on their adventure. Mr. Barkley went
back to the schools and gave the students their tests. There were 50
students that received their Hunter Education cards that are good for a
lifetime and are necessary to acquire a hunting license in the state of WV
after an individual turns 15. These classes were provided in honor of Cade
Stull. Peggy Stull reached out to the DNR and told them about the program
she started in honor of Cade and the DNR is going to provide the classes
this coming year at a reduced rate, so all 100 sixth and seventh graders will
be able to take the class. They are also planning on providing each student
with a blaze orange beanie with a headlamp included in it. The eighth
graders will be tent camping this year and learning ATV safety and study
cripted, writing short stories and making masks, followed by a red carpet
dance party. The High School students love helping the younger students
and receive a season pass for helping out. Not all classrooms have four
walls. The breakdown of expense per student is approximately $75 per
student. Annual expenses averages about $51,000 Snowshoe Resort
provides about a quarter of million dollars in kind and cash and provides
about $20,000.00 for purchase of items. The season passes this year were
upgraded to direct to lift season pass for second through eight graders

with free rentals as well. The High School students have to earn their
benefits by volunteering to help with the program. The CVB provided
$35,000.00 for the program this year and plan to continue this pledge in the
future barring any catastrophic events with their funding.


APPROVAL OF THE FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS
On the recommendation of the Superintendent and on the motion of Ms. Campbell seconded
by Mr. McComb the following were unanimously approved: Consent Financial Requirements:

a. Payment of Vendor Listing = $88,819.33
b. Payment of Local Government Purchasing Card = $171,069.17
c. June 27, 2024 Employee Clean Up Payroll = $27,986.60
july 1, 2024 Employee Payroll = $244,994.84
July 16, 2004 Employee Payroll = $265,895.07
d. Extra Duty Pay June Clean Up Payroll 2024 = $7,446.09
e. Grant Awards
f. Budget Adjustment
APPROVAL OF THE REVISED NEOLA POLICIES
On the recommendation of the Superintendent and on the motion of Ms. Campbell, seconded
by Mr. McComb the Board unanimously approved the Revised Neola Policies.

APPROVAL OF CONTRACT LESLIE GOODALL

On the recommendation of the Superintendent and on the motion of Ms. Campbell, seconded
by Mr. McComb the Board unanimously approved the contract with Leslie Goodall to provide
Occupational Therapy for the 2024-2025 school year.

APPROVAL OF CONTRACT DIANA SMITH

On the recommendation of the Superintendent and on the motion of Ms. Campbell, seconded
by Mr. McComb the Board unanimously approved the contract with Diana Smith Certified Schoo!
Psychologist to provide services for the 2024-2025 school year.

APPROVAL OF MOU GLENVILLE STATE

On the recommendation of the Superintendent and on the motion of Ms. Campbell, seconded
by Mr. McComb the Board unanimously approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
between the Pocahontas County Schools and Glenville State University for a continuing
agreement between both parties regarding field placement, internships/student teaching and
residency effective for the 2024-2025 school year.

APPROVAL OF AGREEMENT NEW RIVER COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL

On the recommendation of the Superintendent and on the motion of Ms. Campbell, seconded
by Mr. McComb the Board unanimously approved the Agreement between New River
Community and Technical College and Pocahontas County High School for dual credit courses
for the 2024-2025 school year.

APPROVAL FOR RESTRICTED SUBSTITUTE WAIVER

On the recommendation of the Superintendent and on the motion of Ms. Campbell, seconded
by Mr. McComb the Board unanimously approved the Restricted Substitute Waiver for additional
substitute teachers for the 2024-2025 school year as needed.

APPROVAL OF MOU NCCWVCAA
On the recommendation of the Superintendent and on the motion of Ms. Campbell, seconded
by Mr. McComb the Board unanimously approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)


between Pocahontas County Schools and North Central West Virginia Community Action
Association, Inc. — Head Start Program, retroactive to July |, 2024, through June 30, 2025.

APPROVAL OF AGREEMENT WITH COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS

On the recommendation of the Superintendent and on the motion of Ms. Campbell, seconded
by Mr. McComb the Board unanimously approved the District Memorandum of Agreement
between Pocahontas County Schools and the Communities in Schools Program for the 2024-
2025 school year.

APPROVAL OF MOU COMMUNITY CARE

On the recommendation of the Superintendent and on the motion of Ms. Campbell, seconded
by Mr. McComb the Board unanimously approved the Memorandum of Understanding between
Pocahontas County Schools and Community Care of WV to provide medical services in
Pocahontas County Schools for the 2024-2025 school year.

APPROVAL MOU WV FAMILY NUTRITION PROGRAM

On the recommendation of the Superintendent and on the motion of Ms. Campbell, seconded
by Ms. McComb the Board unanimously approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
between Pocahontas County Schools and West Virginia’s Family Nutrition Program to provide
nutrition and physical activity programs for low-income families and/or children for the 2024-
2025 school year.

APPROVAL WVDE NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM

On the recommendation of the Superintendent and on the motion of Ms. Campbell, seconded
by Mr. McComb the Board unanimously approved the WVDE National School Lunch Program
Snack Agreement Addendum with Pocahontas County Schools for the2024-2025 school year.

APPROVAL TO ROLL OVER BID UNITED DAIRY

On the recommendation of the Superintendent and on the motion of Ms. Campbell, seconded
by Mr. McComb the Board unanimously approved to roil-over the bid from United Dairy, for
purchasing dairy products for the schools, per the terms of the 2023-2024 contract for the 2024-
2025 school year.

APPROVAL TO ROLL OVER BID TRI-COUNTY WHOLESALE

On the recommendation of the Superintendent and on the motion of Ms. Campbell, seconded
by Mr. McComb the Board unanimously approved to roll-over the bid from Tri-County
Wholesale Produce, for purchasing produce for the schools, per the terms of the 2023-2024
contract for the 2024-2025 school year.

APPROVAL TO ROLL OVER BID FLOWERS BAKERY CO.

On the recommendation of the Superintendent and on the motion of Ms. Campbell, seconded
by Mr. McComb the Board unanimously approved to roll-over the bid from Flowers Bakery Co.
of Jamestown, LLC, for purchasing bakery products for the schools, per the terms of the 2023-
2024 contract for the 2024-2025 school year.


APPROVAL FOR BID THE MOUNTAIN STEER MEAT

On the recommendation of the Superintendent and on the motion of Ms. Campbell, seconded
by Mr. McComb the Board unanimously approved to accept the bid from The Mountain Steer
Meat Company, LLC, to provide beef for the Pocahontas County Schools for the 2024-2025
school year.

APPROVAL TO REMAIN COUNTRY ROADS COOPERATIVE

On the recommendation of the Superintendent and on the motion of Ms. Campbell, seconded
by Mr. McComb the Board unanimously approved to remain in conjunction with the Country
Roads Cooperative in a successful bid with Gordon Food Service/HPS.

APPROVAL TO INCREASE PRICE

On the recommendation of the Superintendent and on the motion of Ms. Campbell, seconded
by Mr. McComb the Board unanimously approved to increase the price of staff and guest meals
from $2.50 per breakfast to $3.00 and from $4.25 per lunch to $5.00 effective for the 2024-2025
school year.

APPROVAL OF THE 2024-2025 SPORTS GENDER CLASSIFICATIONS

On the recommendation of the Superintendent and on the motion of Ms. Campbell, seconded
by Mr. McComb the Board unanimously approved the following 2024-2025 sports gender
classifications, per West Virginia Department of Education:

Boys _ Girls Co-Ed
Baseball Softball Band
Basketball Basketball Cheerleading
Soccer Soccer Football
Track and Field Track and Field Golf
APPROVAL PERSONNEL

On the recommendation of the Superintendent and on the motion of Ms. Campbeil, seconded by Mr.
McComb the Board unanimously approved Service and Professional Personnel. Mr. Sam Gibson
requested an executive session which started at 7:34 and they came back to the Board meeting
at 7:53.

Green Bank Elementary-Middle School:

EMPLOYMENT: ANDREW LANDERS, as Guidance Counselor at Green Bank
Elementary/Middle School for the 2024-2025 school year at State
Basic pay for 200 days.

EMPLOYMENT: SARAH BROWN, as Title | Teacher at Green Bank

Elementary/Middle School effective for the 2024 -2025 school year
at State Basic pay for 200 days.


EMPLOYMENT:

EMPLOYMENT:

UNPAID MEDICAL
LEAVE:

RESIGNATION:

Hillsboro Elementary School:
EMPLOYMENT:

Marlinton Elementary School:
EMPLOYMENT:

UNPAID MEDICAL
LEAVE:

Marlinton Middle School
EMPLOYMENT:

Pocahontas County High School:
EMPLOYMENT:

EMPLOYMENT:

REQUESTED
TRANSFER:

EMPLOYMENT:

MIKE SCANDALIS, as Summer custodian for GBEMS at State Basic
pay for up to 7 days, effective during the time schools are closed for
summer break.

BECKY PETEETE, as Special Education/Classroom/Bus Aide for
Green Bank Elementary/Middle School effective for the 2024-2025
School year at State Basic pay for 200 days.

L. BROOKE NOTTINGHAM, at Green Bank Elementary/Middle
School, effective August 12, 2024 (or upon exhaustion of personal
leave) for a period of up to 12 weeks as needed.

JULIE MARKLEY, as Special Education/Classroom/Bus Aide at Green
Bank Elementary Middle School effective August !, 2024.

KAREN LOCKHART, as Teacher of Pre-School/Special Needs at
Hillsboro Elementary School for the 2024-2025 school year at State
Basic pay for 200 days.

PEGGY OWENS, as Teacher of Fifth Grade at Marlinton Elementary
School for the 2024-2025 school year at State Basic pay for 200 days.

MELISSA WALKER, at Marlinton Elementary School, effective August
18, 2024 (or upon exhaustion of personal leave) for a period of up
to 12 weeks as needed.

SHERR! HOWE, as Summer custodian for Marlinton Middle School
at State Basic pay for up to 7 days, effective during the time schools
are closed for summer break.

NICOLE ROSE-TAYLOR, as principal at Pocahontas County High
School effective August |, 2024 for the 2024-2025 School year at
State Basic pay for 240 days.

OWEN VOGELSONG as Teacher of PE/Health for Pocahontas
County High School, for the 2024-2025 school year at State Basic
pay for 200 days.

JENNIFER STEWART, from Teacher of Special Education (Multi-
Categorical/Autism) at Hillsboro Elementary to Teacher of Special
Education (Multi-Categorical/Autism) at Pocahontas County High
School for the 2024-2025 school year at State Basic pay for 200 days.

DOUG BURNS, as Head Football Coach at Pocahontas County High
Schoo! for the 2024-2025 athletic season supplement being $3,000.00
(Pending certification).


EMPLOYMENT: MATTHEW A. BUZZARD, as Assistant Varsity Football Coach at
Pocahontas County High School for the 2024-2025 athletic season,
supplement being $750.00. (Pending certification)

EMPLOYMENT: JOHN SNYDER, as assistant Basketball Coach (girl's) at Pocahontas
County High School supplement being $750.00 (Pending
certification).

RESIGNATION; ABE RITTENHOUSE, as Teacher of PE/Health at Pocahontas County

High School effective August 12, 2024.

Pocahontas County Schools:
RESIGNATION: GREG RICH, as Substitute Custodian and Substitute Maintenance for
Pocahontas County Schools effective July 16, 2024.

MATTERS OF THE BOARD (including discussion on student achievement,
curriculum, and accountability)

Mr. Grimes: Executive sessions have to be on agenda prior. Board president should receive the
agenda a week prior to the meeting. Mr. Grimes brought up the situation with School Days and
is concerned about how the board can help the situation. The school system offered to acquire
a teacher for her and pay the teacher.

Ms. Campbell: Noted that perception is a point of concern with the new open board meetings
being viewed. Starting September |, 2024 all board meetings will be live.

Mr. Sam Gibson: The old board building is coming down and he would like to keep an eye on
the extra money from the lower bid. Asked for a moment of silence for Kenny Cutlip a former
bus driver that recently passed. How many students used the device insurance? Probably about
10% use the insurance. Huddle is used to show the sport films to other counties and vice
versus. Concession stand concerns at the High School. They were never told they can’t use
the cafeteria, they have to keep the door closed to the kitchen for safety issues. This issue will
be up to the High School principal. Support for the new fifth grade teacher at MES. A new
teacher will receive a Mentor for the school year.

Dr. Hollandsworth: Thanked Kristi Hamons for the great presentation on technology.
Mr. McComb: Thanked Kristi Hamons for a great presentation on technology.

Next Board of Education meeting will be held on August 13, 2024 beginning at 6:00 PM in the
Board of Education Conference Room, Buckeye, WV.


ADJOURN

On the motion of Ms. Campbell, seconded by Mr. McComb the Board unanimously approved to adjourn
the meeting.

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