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Wood County BOE hears updates on multiple projects

By Douglass Huxley 7 min read

PARKERSBURG -- Members of McKinley Architecture and Engineering provided an update on the Lubeck Elementary project to the Wood County Board of Education Tuesday night and said they hope to have bids out for the project by the end of March.

"So the way we have this structured now, due to the SBA funding, requires us to do a base bid, that's the entire facility, all the associated site work and other improvements for the project," Project Manager T.J. Tharp said.

Tharp was joined by Architectural Engineer T.J Clegg and the pair said the project scope includes a new pre-K through fifth grade elementary school to replace the current Lubeck Elementary. Tharpe said the 51,500 square foot school is designed for 380 students and will include an 1,800 square foot activity space as required by SBA funding. Tharp said this will cover the base bid.

"The base bid will talk about a 60 mil, 20 year warranty. That's what the SBA performance manual calls for and recommends," Tharp said.

He also said the project includes two alternates – a full-size gymnasium under 7,000 square feet, and 90 mil roofing material with a 30-year warranty. Director of Maintenance Martin Best said mils refers to the thickness of the rubber like material that will be added to the roof.

"We put that on there as an alternate, so we can see the cost differential," Tharp said. "Just for the sake of the numbers on bid day."

Tharpe expressed excitement about the bidding process, saying, "We've been fortunate enough to open two bids for two comparable schools in the state, and we've seen a lot of competition, and it's been with a very positive result on bid day."

He shared an ambitious timeline, with the bid advertisement going public this week and bid documents available on March 6. He said a mandatory pre-bid meeting is scheduled for March 11, and the bid opening will be held on March 27.

Tharp said construction is expected to commence in the spring, with a target completion date of April 2027 to allow for full commissioning before students arrive in August 2027.

He noted that the contract will include liquidated damages if the project is not completed on time.

"There will also be in there a defined dollar figure for liquidated damages per day," Tharp said. The board expressed their support for the project, with Board President Justin Raber commenting on the long process.

"This is five years in the making to get to the day that we get to approve," Raber said. "We're going to have a big celebration when we can break ground."

The board also heard numerous presentations Tuesday night including a $140,000 check presentation from Chemours to Franklin Elementary to create a state-of-the-art STEM lab and $200,000 to the Wood County Technical Center for their new Introduction to Advanced Manufacturing course.

The board also heard from the Parkersburg South High School Air Force Junior ROTC program who recently underwent its annual inspection and received high praise from the evaluator.

"The inspector had a checklist of 31 items to look at, everything from making sure all our kids were wearing the proper uniform to whether or not our instructors had their CPR certifications done," Cadet Colonel Julia Acklin said. "Of the 31 items inspected, we have zero discrepancies and seven exceed standards. He was impressed with our well rounded cadet program that offers a lot of variety and activity."

Captain Cadet Alex Cantwell spoke about how the Awareness Presentation Team will visit other schools and talk about drugs, bullying and the importance of school and studying.

Captain Cadet Remington Blair said he is the cadet group commander and is responsible for the activities, training and growth of the 70 cadets in the program.

"All of our activities are planned, organized and executed by us," Blair told the board. "It is our chance to put into practice the stuff we were taught in the classroom."

Lt. Col. Alex Cantu, senior instructor, explained that the program's mission is to "develop citizens of character" and is not a military recruitment tool.

"We are not authorized to recruit for the military," Cantu said. "Our cadets in our program have no obligation to join the military. Less than 10% of our cadets do. In fact, about 20% of our graduates go directly into the workforce, and most of our cadets, about 70%, go on to continuing education."

Members of South's Student Council, who work with the ROTC on projects, also presented to the board and talked about receiving the gold level of the National Council of Excellence (NCOE) award in 2024.

"Last year, in 2024 we were one of 300 schools, not even nationwide, but worldwide, that received not only the basic level of the award, but the gold level," West Virginia State Executive Director and South Adviser Jaime Moss said.

Moss was joined by Secretary Jaiden Vargas and Vice President Landon Henthorn, who serve as the West Virginia Student Council President and Senior High Representative respectively, who talked about their state experience and future plans.

"Three of the last four state presidents are from South and women," Vargas said. "I just wanted to add that. Me being the latest. And we have multiple years of state officers."

Looking ahead, the pair said the student council plans to address identified needs, such as bathroom upkeep and attendance, as well as focusing on mental health initiatives.

"We'd like to start a date or a weekly post called Wellness Wednesdays, talking about mental health and trying to improve it throughout the school," Henthron said.

The pair thanked the board, teachers and administrators for their support.

"We'd like to thank Wood County period," Vargas said. "Everyone in Wood County has helped student council, and even South. We are very appreciative of that."

Board member Judy Johnson praised the staff at South for their work with these groups.

"I'm so excited to see all the leadership opportunities that you give your students through student council and ROTC," Johnson said. "I like when they said 'student led' in both areas."

In other business, the board also heard from Williamstown High School Athletic Director Jill Bryant who said the school will be hiring a girl's soccer coach and moving forward with two teams and approved Human Anatomy and Physiology II as a dual credit course to be offered at Parkersburg High School. A full list of items approved by the board can be found in the online version of this story.

During public comment multiple speakers, including parents and students, spoke in support of Tyler George, the Williamstown wrestling coach and teacher. The board voted to suspend George pending an investigation but would not say more on the matter.

The group highlighted George's exceptional character, dedication to the school and community, and transformative impact on the wrestling program and students' lives.

"He has tremendous character. He's honest, he has integrity, he's dependable," Dr. Steven Eddy said. "He's ethical. I mean, I think he's a guy that learns from his mistakes. He corrects, he goes ahead. He's grateful, he's generous. He's a mentor to the parents and to the kids."

Raber said the board does not have information on why employees are on paid leave, as they only receive information during formal disciplinary hearings when the superintendent recommends discipline or termination.

Douglass Huxley can be reached at dhuxley@newsandsentinel.com

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Items approved by the board during the Feb. 25 regular meeting:

* The addition of Human Anatomy and Physiology II dual credit course offering

* The agreement with Coplin Clinic to provide clinical hours for the students enrolled in the Practical Nursing Program.

* MOU between Wood County Schools and the Department of the Air Force to establish and operate a Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps Unit.

* MOU between Wood County Schools and the Department of the Navy to establish and operate a Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps Unit.

* Franklin Structural Repair Fee Adjustment to Pickering Associates purchase order in the amount of $2,314.19.

* Increase of $100,000 to the Bowles Rice purchase order for a total of $400,000.

* Outside School Environment Days June 6 and June 9 to be converted to in-person instructional days to meet the 180-day instructional term requirement and the last day for the 200-day employment term will be Tuesday, June 11, 2025. The last day for students will be June 9 and subject to change due to factors such as inclement weather.

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