(Photo Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection)

PARKERSBURG — Superintendent Christie Willis told the Wood County Board of Education Tuesday night the district is again facing a difficult round of staffing reductions, driven by state funding formulas and enrollment-based positions, as they approach this year’s RIF (reduction in force) and transfer.

“This is a really tough time for everyone right now, and unfortunately, every year that I’ve been in this role, this has occurred where we have to reduce staff,” Willis said. “It is not a pleasant time for anyone, and it is very difficult.”

She said conversations began in the Central Office in December and there have been several meetings and discussions on the matter since then to make sure that the cuts the district makes maintains the needs of the students, while also making sure the district stays within budget.

Willis said state numbers show the district is significantly over the funded level for professional staff this year.

“When we received our numbers from the State Department, we were 57 professionals over. We are planning to cut 38 positions in the future,” Willis said.

At the same time, she said restructuring could lead to some additions for professional staff.

“We are going to be bringing some restructuring options to the board,” Willis said. “There’s a potential number to have 33 positions professionally added with a total then of 52.”

She said the district will rely on its excess levy to maintain some positions beyond what is supported by state aid.

“Because we are very fortunate in Wood County to have an excess levy, it does mean that we can carry some positions there to continue our services that are in addition to state aid,” Willis said.

For service personnel, she said the district is also above the funded staffing level.

“In service, we are over 108 positions, and we are right now working to cut 76-and-a-half of those, and adding three,” Willis said. “With that cut, we are still 34-and-a-half positions over for service that, again, we are able to absorb in that excess levy over state aid formula.”

She said since assuming the superintendent role in 2022, the district has reduced its central office footprint overall by eliminating 12 positions that are in the central office umbrella, and created eight.

“So right now we’re at negative four positions that we’ve eliminated,” she said.

Positions eliminated included roles such as a communications coordinator, an early learning coordinator, a behavior specialist, a technology support specialist, a Medicaid billing specialist and multiple secretarial or finance positions that were not replaced after retirements or departures.

At the same time, she said the district has created certain roles tied to bond projects, financial oversight, and safety.

“When we started on the bond work, we knew that we needed additional help in finance,” Willis said. “So we have reinstated … the assistant director of finance. We have a clerk of the works position. This position, even though I am counting it in the eight that we’ve added, is a requirement of the SBA, and when the new schools are built, that position will be eliminated from the levy funds.”

She also described several title changes tied to retirements and reorganizations–for example, converting the assistant superintendent of support services to assistant superintendent of operations, and retitling the director of physical plant to director of facilities–to reflect evolving responsibilities and compliance needs.

Willis emphasized that funds approved by voters for safety and security are legally restricted and that the $2.5 million set aside annually specifically for safety and security, cannot be used to fund teaching positions or service personnel positions.

From those designated funds, she said the district created a director of safety and security and a coordinator of safety and security, among other safety-related roles.

The board voted Tuesday night to approve Anthony Harris for the coordinator of safety and security role.

Harris is a long-serving member of the Vienna Police Department, currently assigned to Jackson Middle School as their school resource officer. He said he is set to retire from the police department in the next few weeks.

“I’m excited to get started on something new,” Harris said.

Willis also told the board there were adjustments made to the district’s grading periods and midterm dates.

“We are now going to have midterms on Feb. 20. Grades are closed on March 23 and report cards will be issued on April 3,” Willis said.

She said because of these adjustments, the fourth nine weeks will also be modified by one week.

“For the fourth nine weeks, because we’re changing the third, we are also going to adjust the fourth one week grade period, so midterm is going to be May 1, and then grades will close on the last day of school,” Willis said.

She also asked the board to delay action on an OS (outside-the-school-environment) day conversion that had been placed on the consent agenda.

“I’ve learned that there may be a possibility that the State Department might offer a waiver option,” Willis said. “So I would like to wait until we see if this waiver option is available before we convert that OS day.”

Douglass Huxley can be reached at dhuxley@newsandsentinel.com

***

Numbers for this year’s RIF and Transfer season:

Professional Staff

57 professional positions over the State Aid Funding Formula

Plan to cut 38 professional positions

Potential restructuring could add 33 professional positions, resulting in a total of 52 positions carried above state aid using the excess levy

Service Personnel

108 service positions

Working to cut 76.5 service positions

Adding 3 service positions

After these changes, the district will still be 34.5 service positions over, to be absorbed through the excess levy