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Wood County BOE to meet Tuesday at Williamstown Elementary

Will discuss Fenton site

PARKERSBURG — The Wood County Board of Education will meet Tuesday at Williamstown Elementary School to again review an environmental report on the Fenton Art Glass property.

The meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the school’s gymnasium and is open to the public. The meeting was moved to the school after officials anticipated a high turnout from the Williamstown community to discuss possible locations for a new Williamstown-area elementary school.

“We wanted to give the people in Williamstown a chance to speak and address the board and any questions or concerns they may have,” Superintendent John Flint said Friday.

Officials will hear a second presentation from Potesta, which conducted environmental soil and water studies on the Fenton property. The company made a presentation in January, but received few questions from board members.

Potesta “did one on Jan. 10, and we’re going to revisit that in case anyone has any questions or followup or clarifications they need,” Flint said.

Earlier this month the board voted 2-3 to purchase the Fenton property, which was selected by a site committee after a more than three-year search for a location for the new elementary school.

The three board members who voted against the purchase cited concerns over possible environmental hazards at the site. The school system has conducted two environmental studies of the property, both of which found no areas of concern.

The new elementary school is the flagship project of a $41 million bond call, which was approved by Wood County voters in November. Officials have said a delay in selecting a site for the school could result in a delay in construction and the bonds becoming less valuable at time of sale due to uncertainty.

Flint said Tuesday’s meeting does not include any discussion of other possible sites for the school or any votes on the purchase of property.

Officials Tuesday will present a proposal on roof replacements. The $41 million bond included roof replacements for 23 roofs in Wood County.

“It’s an introduction to the process with the bond and the locations and the way we plan on doing it,” Flint said.

Tuesday’s meeting also includes several non-bond related presentations. Officials will present a draft of the 2017-18 school calendar, a report from RESA 5, a discussion of personnel for the 2017-18 school year, and information on a West Virginia University at Parkersburg early college math course.

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