BOE passes budgets, discusses HVAC issues

With the start of the formal business portion of the meeting, Superintendent of Schools Will Hosaflook pointed out several policies that were under consideration for updates, many due to legislative or state board of education policy changes.

The superintendent focused on Revised Policy 5421.01 which addressed valedictorian and salutatorian procedures.

If the board votes in favor after its final reading, beginning the 2026-2027 school year, graduation honors will move into cum laude, summa cum laude and magna cum laude. Students must have completed 32 credits during their high school years. Each high school will set its grade point average (GPA) needed to graduate with honors.

“Administrators and teachers at both schools wanted the ability to set the GPA,” the superintendent explained. “Ripley High offers more dual credits currently. With those credits affecting top honors, then Ravenswood students would not have the same chance to reach the honor level if the GPA was the same county-wide. This will go into effect with the incoming 9th-grade class.”

The current method for determining valedictorian and salutatorian will be in effect until 2023-2024.

Superintendent Hosaflook spoke briefly on the results of the general summative assessment (GSA) that measures student performance.

“The data is embargoed which means we don’t have total access to it at this point,” he said. “But I do know we have pockets of progress. Good things are happening.”

The talented and gifted program selection process will be using the third I-Ready benchmark. In each designated class, the top 25 students from the paired schools will be chosen. The parents of those students will be given the option to have their children in the program that will see them taking advanced science, technology, engineering and mathematics instruction.

“This will be the top 25 no matter which school they attend,” Hosaflook said. “So not all schools may be represented. We use the I-Ready rather than the GSA because second graders do not take that test.”

At the end of the meeting, in remarks from the board members, Steve Chancey spoke of his dissatisfaction with the performance of the newest heating and cooling units at Cottageville, Kenna and Ravenswood Elementary.

“They’re not working and no one seems to know what the answer is,” he said. “This is very upsetting.”

The superintendent said that all those with centralized controls have issues, including Ripley Middle.

“I will not be signing off on anything even next year,” he said. “They will be held accountable.”

The 2023-2024 budget, totaling $55,318,761, was passed after a brief public hearing at which no one spoke. In his remarks, Board President Jim Frazier took a few minutes to explain some of the major components. The budget totaled $55,318,761.

“Approximately 80 percent of our budget is salaries and benefits,” he said. “Charter schools, for the first time, receive $95,000. That could go up if more students opt to attend. The budget also includes a $500 supplement across the board for teachers and school personnel, the first since 2009. We’ve added several positions such as science and social studies coordinators.”

While there is no charter school in Jackson School, a few students attend charter virtually or out of the area. Each student that makes this choice affects the state funding allotted to the county.

At 8:07 pm the board moved into a closed-door executive session ‘to discuss any material the disclosure of which would constitute an unwanted invasion of an individual’s privacy.’ No action was taken when the board reconvened into the public session.

In personnel:

Retirements: Karen White-Ross, paraprofessional/aide, Evans, effective June 1, 2023

Transfers: April Smithson, special education teacher Fairplain to 3rd grade Ripley Elementary; Kristy Hatcher, kindergarten teacher Kenna to 5th grade Evans; Jennifer Horne, 5th grade teacher to 3rd grade Evans; Dale Barnette from bus operator #15 to #18; From paraprofessional/aide/ECCAT to aide/ECCAT Dreama Pursley (Evan), Stacy Sturm, (HJK to Gilmore), Brooke Hosaflook (Ripley Elementary), Kathryn Southall (HJK); Erin Petry and Carrie Burgess from special education teacher’s aide to aide/ECCAT (Ripley Elementary); Alysia Bryant from professional/aide/autism mentor to aide/ECCAT Ripley Elementary; Teresa Eagle from paraprofessional/aide/autism mentor to paraprofessional/aide/ECCAT kindergarten Ripley Elementary; Jodie Snyder from paraprofessional/aide/autism mentor Ripley Elementary to Ripley High; Jameson Hunt from wellness teacher Ravenswood Middle to itinerant physical education countywide; Tabitha Donohew from CTE Career Exploration/Project Lead the Way Ripley Middle to special education gift teacher countywide; Sharon Newton-Carroll from transfer and subsequent assignment list to Director of Student Services countywide

Employment: Jenny Greathouse, special education multi-categorical with autism, Fairplain; Alyssa Perry, itinerant music teacher and assistant band director Ravenswood High; Nisha Holley, 3rd-grade teacher Evans; Bradley Knotts, special education multi-categorical with autism, Ripley High; Aide/ECCAT Krista Ranson (Fairplain), Amanda Cooper (Ripley Elementary), Kara Lewis (Kenna), Denna Thompson (Kenna), Elizabeth Mattox (HJK), Christina Barker (HJK), Kasey Gray, special education teacher’s aide, HJK, Tiffany Huffman, halftime Cook III Cottageville; Brenda Thomas, paraprofessional/aide/ECCAT kindergarten Fairplain; Chelsea Click, 3rd-grade teacher Cottageville; Haley martin, 1st-grade teacher Fairplain; Jessica Keaton, teacher interventionist Fairplain; Brooke Shouldis, interventionist teacher half-time and Title I teacher half-time Kenna; Brandy Compston, interventionist teacher HJK and Marah Engle, vocational agriculture teacher Ripley High

Additional personnel items can be found at https://www.boe.jack.k12.wv.us.

The next meeting of the board will be Thursday, June 1 at 7 pm at the central office.