LEWISBURG (WVDN) – The Greenbrier County Board of Education examined school successes, new food policy updates, the upcoming year’s levy budget, and heard public comment during the Tuesday, Mar. 8, meeting.
The Greenbrier East High School student representatives to the board highlighted some of the school’s recent successes. The trio, Tristen Deeds, Ceili Allder, and Rylee Norman, highlighted the following:
– The academic showdown team going to states after winning the regional competition at Concord.
– The math field day participants attended the recent regional competition, where two students placed in the top ten.
– Of the GEHS seniors, 141 qualify for the PROMISE Scholarship, a major grant program offered for in-state West Virginia college students.
– Cody Jenkins qualified for the All-Service National Rifle Competition.
– The girls’ basketball team will be competing in the sectional championships.
– The boys’ basketball team competed in regionals on Mar. 9.
– The theater class placed second in the WYCA Project Against Racism contest.
– Healthcare students participated in an epilepsy first aid training.
– The National Honors Society has been mentoring students at Eastern Greenbrier Middle School.
Two of the GEHS student representatives were also applauded by the board for their individual accomplishments.
“The Greenbrier County Board of Education extends a huge round of applause to West Point appointee Tristan Deeds of Greenbrier East High School!” reads a post from Greenbrier County Schools on Facebook. “We wish Tristan all the best as he prepares to enter this prestigious U.S. service academy in West Point, New York. Congratulations Tristan!”
Tristan Deeds (center) |
In addition, student representative Ceili Allder recently placed in West Virginia Music Educators Association (WVMEA) All-State Ensembles. For more, see “GEHS music program celebrates All-State performances and governor’s award” on wvdn.com.
In other business:
– To see the students celebrated for their efforts in English language courses, see “Spelling bee and WV Young Writers celebrated at BoE” on wvdn.com.
– A new food service policy is expected to be approved after a 30-day public comment period. The policy will include a requirement for a staff member trained in the Heimlich maneuver be present during times when students eat, allowing meal substitutions for students with dietary restrictions, striking the sale of soft drinks in high schools, adjusting the handling of lunch-related financial debts, and assigning duties to the child nutrition director.
– The proposed levy rates for fiscal year 2023 were approved. Chief school business official David McClure explained, “overall, the assessments and Greenbrier County merge on 3.24 percent, which is typical of what we’ve seen during the COVID. We still rank very favorably with the state, we’re 32nd out of 55 [counties], as far as local property tax collections go to support public education.” The specifics are expected to be published in local newspapers shortly after the approval.
– While reviewing the budget information, board president Jeanie Wyatt celebrated the nearing end of some of the school systems bonds, saying “it’s exciting to think that the major bond, the bond that we did on Greenbrier West, Rainelle, Lewisburg, the gym at Eastern [Greenbrier], Smoot, and all of that is going to be paid off in 2024. That’s really exciting, I think.”
– A bid for a roof replacement for Western Greenbrier Middle School was approved. The bid, totaling $500,900, was granted to Five Star Commercial Roofing.
– Lewisburg parent Dorian Swann told the board that on Feb. 23, around noon, she arrived to pick up her child from Lewisburg Elementary School to find “at about 60 students to the right of the school,” where she found her child “being pummeled by another student. He tries to defend himself and the child keeps hitting my child, one punch after the other. … Not one adult approached them. I put my car in park, got out, and ran as fast as I could towards the students. … This is clearly something that happens often.” Noting that she was able to approach the kids without being approached by a staff member, she said “if you’re going to have 64 students outside, that we need to have [a staff member] outside with them, and if we don’t have enough staff, we pull them back inside.” She also hopes to “to offer possible parent workshops, for the students and their parents. When a specific student is having bigger issues and bullying, we need to understand what their underlying issue is.” She also asked if the school could have “counseling sessions for each student monthly, quarterly or even yearly, without a specific request. If not, can we?”
– Community member Frank Tuckwiller approached the board to examine “a public-school review that I assume was put in by the Greenbrier County Board of Education” that concerns “the proficiency in math and reading for the elementary schools, middle schools and high schools.” Tuckwiller said, “I would like to recommend that someone present a plan to improve math education in the western [side of the county].”
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