Wood County Schools BOE discusses coronavirus cases
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PARKERSBURG -- The Wood County Board of Education Tuesday discussed quarantines, out-of-state tuition rates and Criss Elementary School.
Criss received recognition as a National Blue Ribbon School for 2021.
"We have had back-to-back-to-back, National Blue Ribbon Schools in Wood County, West Virginia, and that is absolutely amazing," said Superintendent Will Hosaflook.
The elementary school was among 325 schools across the nation to receive the National Blue Ribbon Award.
"I love to start my day at Criss Elementary, I want to start my day at any school, but Criss Elementary is a culture," Hosaflook said.
In other business, the board unanimously approved out-of-state tuition rates for students. Wood County did not have a policy in place and there is no students considered out-of-state in Wood County Schools at this time.
The board set a $6,000 tuition for out-of-state students.
"I just have a problem with charging students for their education," said board member Debbie Hendershot.
Hosaflook in response said West Virginia taxpayers pay for education and someone from out-of-state would not be paying the same taxes.
The board also discussed the Williamstown High School bleachers.
"The bleachers are going to be condemned after this year, the bleachers are still wooden," said Hosaflook.
Williamstown Middle/High is a single A school and bleachers will be required to hold at least 2,000 people, he said. It will cost between $1.2 million and $1.6 Million to fix the bleachers, Hosaflook said.
A major issue will be the removal of the railroad ties installed 35 years ago underneath the bleachers, Hosaflook said.
No decision was made.
The board also approved Pickering Associates for Architectural and Engineering design services for renovations at Blennerhassett Elementary School.
Joseph Keefe, the only person to speak at the meeting, talked about the mask policy. Students, staff and visitors must wear a mask in school while the county is red or orange on the state's County Alert System.
"Your mandate is a half measure, at best, at worst, it's virtue signaling," Keefe said.
He questioned why sports are still occurring in Wood County because of the close contact students have with each other while playing sports.
During the superintendent's update, Hosaflook discussed quarantines and the coronavirus cases in Wood County. Hosaflook said there were 437 quarantines this week and 94 positive cases. Two weeks ago, Wood County had around 450 quarantines and 111 active cases.