Seeing the light…

Before I get to the main topic of this writing, I want to comment on all the positive things I heard about the Bigfoot Festival. In only its second year, the event grew substantially. Having been involved in events like this in the past, I know first hand, what a huge task the planning and operations are. I congratulate
everyone involved in what was undoubtedly a job well done!
Gassaway Days were also an apparent success. We have been ask about the insert or lack thereof, like the one we produced last year for then Mayor Jeff Skidmore. A number of people said they were looking forward to more of the stories and history like the 2021 version contained. We didn’t have an insert because Mayor Richie Roach chose not to. We offered… and for a while it looked like they would continue,
but that did not turn out to be the case. Regardless, I’m glad the event went well, and local citizens enjoyed it.
This week I got a new release from the State Board of Education that they are getting involved in the court case to challenge what will inevitably be a drain to public education finances.
The West Virginia Board of Education (WVBE) and State Superintendent of Schools, through their attorneys, recently filed a response in the Circuit Court of Kanawha County in the case of Beaver v. Moore, in support of the parents’ request that the Court enjoin the unconstitutional diversion of public funds from public schools authorized by the West Virginia Legislature in the Hope Scholarship Program.
That news release went on to say, “The people of this State made a choice in 1863 when they enshrined public education as a fundamental right in West Virginia’s constitution. Thereafter, when the people of this State ratified the provision in the State’s constitution that entrusts the supervision of the public schools to the West Virginia Board of Education, they gave the Board the independent responsibility to protect and defend that constitutional choice.
“The Hope Scholarship Program incentivizes students to exit the public school system and drains needed public funds from the state’s public schools. As a result, it violates the West Virginia Constitution as it prevents the West Virginia Board of Education from providing a thorough and efficient education for all children. It is the Board’s intent to assert that position in the Circuit Court of Kanawha County and to
support the parents who have initiated legal action in this matter. “The West Virginia Board of Education
intends to take every action it can to protect public education and the children it serves.”
I hope this helps bring an end to this foolish move. If parents want a different education for their children than what the public school system is providing, that is certainly their right. However, it should not be at the expense of the majority of the students of this state.