Christie Willis

PARKERSBURG — Christie Willis will be superintendent of Wood County Schools for the foreseeable future as the Wood County Board of Education met in special session Saturday to perform a mid-year review of the superintendent and voted to extend her contract for another four years.

“(Willis) has shown through her C&I experience and as Superintendent her ability to strategically plan and implement our priorities to make Wood County Schools the best system in West Virginia,” Board President Justin Raber said. “The majority of the Board continues to support Mrs. Willis and her leadership team as we navigate the continued issues that are presented on a daily basis.”

The Board voted 3-1 to approve the contract with board members Debbie Hendershot abstaining and Ron Tice as the dissenting vote.

Tice could not be reached for comment in time for print.

Willis said WCS has a lot to celebrate as test scores in the county are fourth out of the fifty-five counties in West Virginia.

“We are proud of our accomplishments in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science,” Willis said.

Willis said in September that Wood County Schools had a successful job fair resulting in filling many vacancies across the district and in November the district received an Aa3 rating from Moody’s Investor Service for the bond projects they have begun planning for.

“The next four years will be exciting and challenging as we embark on our bond projects which include the construction of three new elementary schools, construction of three new elementary schools, safety and security improvements, auditorium renovations at Parkersburg High School and Parkersburg South High School, and improvements to county athletic facilities.” Willis said. “Over the next four years, we will be creating and building our future.”

Raber said they have an aggressive campaign to build those new facilities and get the other bond projects done.

“We need the continuity and leadership (Willis brings) to see these projects through,” Raber said.

The new contract will take effect July 1.

Douglass Huxley can be reached at dhuxley@newsandsentinel.com