Evelyn Post was appointed President of the Braxton County Board of Education to start the July 5 organizational meeting. New board member Larry Hardway nominated Post for the position and she was unanimously approved by the board.
President Post thanked the board members and noted she had “big shoes to fill” as past President DeAnna Whipkey did “a great job” during her time on the board. She also welcomed Dr. Rhonda Combs as the new superintendent for Braxton County.
She went on to ask board members to submit dates they would be available for a work session to set goals for the upcoming school year.
Under delegations, Pamela Shield, Education Liaison for Community Care, WV, introduced herself to board members. She told the board her primary role would be to eliminate barriers between the schools and Community Care to provide appropriate care without loss of instructional time in a safe environment.
New Superintendent Dr. Combs spoke to the board briefly on two focus areas she wants to work on. First is school safety and crisis management. She and Dr. Brenda Wells met with state officials last week and she also recently attended active shooter training. Dr. Combs would like to meet with board members, staff and local law enforcement to work on areas approving school safety including communication and education.
The second focus area is the new WV accountability system that goes into effective this fall. It will be based on the General Summative Assessment scores and other indicators to develop the district balance scorecards. Kevin Gregory asked about public access to testing scores and he was informed they are not public at this time but will be released in August.
Dr. Combs stated she wants to work on updating the website and to make sure everything is current. She also wants to get headshots of all of the board members and herself to be placed in the entrance hallway of the board office.
The board approved the following consent agenda items on a motion by Dr. Kenna Seal with a second by Lisa Ratliff: transportation requests and payment of bills.
The following professional, service, extra-curricular personnel recommendations on a motion by Lisa Ratliff and second by Larry Hardway: employment for Lisa Allen, from custodian (part-time), central office/BCMS to custodian, BCMS/BOE, Emily Oates, special education supervisory/instructional/transportation aide (itinerant), Sutton, Lindsey Casto, head soccer coach, BCMS, and Leigh Ann Copen, volleyball coach, BCMS; and resignation for Russell Gray, principal, BCMS.
After a brief discussion, the board approved to continue with the first and third Tuesday at 6:00 pm schedule for regular board meetings for the upcoming year on a motion by Kevin Gregory and a second by Lisa Ratliff.
Board members decided to move the out of district drawings to the next meeting. They also tabled the permission request to attend school in Braxton County from Webster County to allow for Dr. Combs to investigate the circumstances on a motion by Kevin Gregory with a second by Larry Hardway.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:32 pm. The next regular meeting will be July 19 at 6:00 pm.
The newly elected members of the of Education along with the new school superintendent were sworn in at a special meeting held on June 28.
Honorable Judge Richard A. Facemire performed the Oaths of Office for Lisa Ratliff, Kevin Gregory, and Larry Hardway who were elected in May to the board. He then swore in Braxton County’s new superintendent Dr. Rhonda Combs.
Judge Facemire thanked the outgoing board members President DeAnna Whipkey and Dolores Wright and Superintendent Kathy Hypes for their work providing a good education to the students.
Evelyn Post also thanked them and Dr. Martha Dean for their service to the board and the challenges they faced during the pandemic.
Dr. Kenna Seal thanked President Whipkey for her leadership. He also thanked Wright and Dean as well as David Hoover for their service noting he was honored to serve with them the last few years.
President Whipkey thanked the other board members for their support during her and Wright’s term. She stated it was a “huge honor” to serve the community and the students for the past four years. President Whipkey also thanked Superintendent Hypes for her service the last three years.
Under regular business the board approved the following consent agenda items on a motion by Dolores Wright with a second by Evelyn Post: minutes of June 21 meeting; transportation requests; payment of bills; and budget transfers and supplements.
The board approved the following professional and service personnel recommendations: employment of Wesley Monk, elementary music teacher, Ivy Hodges, elementary music teacher, Forrest Taylor, special education teacher, BCMS, Kelsie Tonkin, from PE/Planning teacher, Flatwoods, to PE/Health/Wellness teacher, BCHS, Erica Toler, from preschool special needs teacher, Flatwoods, to English teacher, BCHS, Sheran Helmick, 1st grade teacher, Frametown, Carla Mauser, from 3rd grade teacher, Burnsville, to special education teacher (part-time), Sutton, Duane Williams, from 6th grade science teacher, BCMS, to 6th grade social studies teacher, BCMS, Melissa Duckworth, from 5th grade teacher, Davis, to 6th grade math teacher, BCMS, Sherry Moats, instructional aide, Little Birch, summer school, and Stephanie Stewart, summer student receptionist; reassignment for Jaclyn Whitney, from BCMS to Flatwoods; and resignation for Paul Burton, summer school bus operator.
On a motion by Dolores Wright with a second by Evelyn Post, the board approved the all fundraisers as presented.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:19 pm.
