Wood County Schools board to modify facilities plan
Changes would reflect passage of bond call
PARKERSBURG — A proposed $51 million schools building and renovation project will require Wood County Schools to modify its 10-year facilities plan.
The Wood County Board of Education meets at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday to consider changes to the Comprehensive Education Facilities plan, or CEFP. The meeting will be held at the district’s central office at Plum and 13th streets in Parkersburg and is open to the public.
Wood County Schools will ask voters on Nov. 8 to approve a $41 million bond call to build a new Williamstown-area elementary school, renovate and expand the Wood County Technical Center, and repair and replace roofs throughout the district.
The state School Building Authority may put an additional $10 million toward the new Williamstown Elementary, increasing the overall project to $51 million.
Assistant Superintendent Mike Fling, who oversees facilities for Wood County Schools and has been the lead administrator on the bond call, said in order to do the new construction, the district must submit a 22-page amendment for the CEFP to the state for review and approval. The next state Board of Education meeting is Nov. 9, the day after the election.
“We have to go ahead and approve the amendment as though the bond was passed,” Fling said. “That way it can be placed on the state BOE agenda for Nov. 9.”
Also at Tuesday’s meeting, the district’s Curriculum and Instruction Department will give a comprehensive overview of mathematics in Wood County Schools. Officials have been working to improve math scores at all levels in recent years and have held multiple training sessions for teachers and administrators in recent months.