(Meeting Updates - Photo Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection)

PARKERSBURG — A town hall meeting concerning the impact of school closures on education will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. Monday in the banquet room at the Worthington Golf Course.

The meeting, which will include a time for questions and answers, is sponsored by the Parkersburg Area Labor Council, AFL-CIO and AFT-Wood County.

“We’ve had several school closures in Wood County and residents also have concerns about the teachers, staff and programs potentially being cut in our local school system,” said Jeff Fox, recording secretary of the Parkersburg Area Labor Council. “We’ve asked several West Virginia agencies that are focused on how our taxpayer dollars are spent for education, strengthening school-based student mental health programs and making sure that all West Virginia students have safe and welcoming spaces for learning to explain what they see down the road for public education in our state and county.”

In Wood County, the Board of Education closed and merged VanDevender Middle School with Jackson and Hamilton Middle Schools and closed Fairplains Elementary to merge with Martin Elementary. A report about state and federal legislation and orders and how public education in Wood County and the state of West Virginia is affected will be presented by the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy.

Joe White, executive director of the West Virginia Secondary School Personnel Association, will discuss impacts on school staff and representatives from AFT-West Virginia will speak on behalf of the teachers.

The event is free and open to the public. Light snacks will be served.

The golf course is located at 3414 Roseland Ave. in Parkersburg. The banquet room is upstairs in the clubhouse where the entrance is from the upper parking lot.