GILBERT, W.Va. — The Mingo County Board of Education met at Gilbert Middle School on Tuesday for their regular meeting but for teachers and even students, there was a certain topic they were ready to discuss.
Rumors and decisions have been flying in Mingo County for over a month about the possible budget cuts for the upcoming school year that will affect classrooms in a huge way, leaving many to wonder if their class will be the one that gets cut.
Tina Cline was the first to present to the board. Cline, who currently teaches multiple math classes at Mingo Central High School and previously taught at Gilbert High School immediately began speaking about the proposed cut of a math teacher at MCHS.
“We presently have six math teachers and out of those six, three of those positions have been filled by at least 17 teachers over the past five years,” said Cline. “Most of those seventeen were not certified math teachers which means over the years, students have lacked consistency in the classroom. The lack of consistency has led to a lack of confidence in our students. Most of the kids who experienced so many subs year after year are reluctant to take higher level courses because of the fear of not being as prepared as they could have been. Now that we have six certified math teachers, I’m asking you to please not cut any of them…