PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — The Wood County Board of Education received an update on the proposed staff and faculty reductions needed to meet the 2015-2016 federal school funding allotted to the county.
According to information discussed in the Dec. 16 meeting of the board, Wood County Schools are $1.3 million over-budget for 2015-2016, resulting from the reduction of 249 students over the past five years.
Due to these reductions, the county is over-staffed by 21 professional and 33 service personnel, school officials said.
Plans have been made as to how to proceed with the needed cuts, said Randy Simmons, director of human resources for Wood County Schools.
Plans for reduction of professional staff were outlined during Tuesday’s meeting by Simmons. Those positions currently being considered for cuts include the elementary, secondary and professional office workers.
In elementary schools, it was determined that teacher cuts needed to be made in the following places: Blennerhassett grade 3; Emerson grade 4; Kanawha grade 3; Lubeck grade 5; McKinley kindergarten; Mineral Wells grade 2; Neale grades 3 and 5.
It was discovered that Jefferson Elementary School is one teacher shy of being able to meet the recommended class size of 25 students, Simmons said. The teacher will need to be added, meaning another will have to be cut elsewhere, he said.
It was recommended that special education services be reduced by one position at Williamstown High School, where a professional is retiring, and one special education position be cut at the central office.
At the secondary level, the following teacher cut proposals were made: Blennerhassett Middle, computer lab program, librarian and half-day music; Edison Middle, technical education; Hamilton Middle, half-day music and reading; Jackson Middle, librarian and math; VanDevender Middle, physical education and math; Parkersburg High, English and business English; Parkersburg South High, social services, English, and physical education health and safety; and Williamstown High, two business education positions.
Blennerhassett Middle School will need a social studies teacher, and Williamstown High School will need an additional teacher in an unspecified area, Simmons said.
Also, the county has four attendance positions which are not eligible for federal funding and are being considered for cutbacks, Simmons said.
The service personnel positions being considered for cutbacks were not discussed during Tuesday’s meeting.
“No one wants to make these cuts,” Simmons said. “All of our employees are important to us, but we have a limited amount of funds.”
Employees will be cut on a basis of experience and certification, Simmons said. More highly-qualified employees will be moved around through transfers, with the least certified and experienced personnel being cut, Simmons said.
Every employee to be cut will be given an opportunity to plead their case before the board of education in the coming months, Simmons said.
Simmons assured members of the board that all positions within Wood County Schools have been considered for cutbacks, including administration, central office personnel, and professional employees.
In other news, the board discussed making calendar changes to recover school days recently lost to winter weather, said Assistant Superintendent of School Services Mike Fling.
It was proposed that Feb. 16, March 9 and March 16 be turned into regular school days, Fling said.
The board discussed the recovery of these three days, and agreed to have the recommendation placed on the next board meeting agenda.
Doug Kiger, director of continuing education for Wood County Schools, preceded the cutbacks discussion by asking permission to hire a health occupations science technology instructor for Wood County Technical Center with a 100-day contract.
West Virginia University at Parkersburg was recently awarded a $220,000 grant to fund a new certificate and associate of applied science degree in health informatics, according to a press release from WVU-P.
WVU-P has offered Wood County Technical Center students the opportunity to join the health informatics class for advanced credits which will transfer to other colleges as well, Kiger said.
The new position Kiger requested will sit in on the classes at WVU-P in order to watch the high school students in the class and to obtain on-the-job training for his or her own certification in health informatics, Kiger said.
Hopes are that the new employee will complete his or her certification in Columbus, Ohio, this summer so that Wood County can offer the class itself, Kiger said.
Kiger offered to fully fund the 100-day contract with his own grant money, but requires the board’s permission before proceeding with adding the position, he said. Kiger’s proposal was approved by the board Tuesday.
Also preceding the position cuts discussion, Chris Rutherford with Attendance and Home Services for Wood County Schools presented the numbers on how his team has increased attendance in the school system over the past few years.
The Attendance and Home Services Team collaborates with 20 local community services to prevent truancy and drop-outs, Rutherford said.
Wood County Schools has seen a 45 percent drop in truancy since the attendance team began work in the 2011-2012 school year, Rutherford said. Annual drop-outs have decreased from 137 in 2009-2010 to 67 in 2013-2014, he said.
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