As the summer break winds down, the Harrison County Board of Education convened its first meeting of August as the system prepares for the first day of school coming soon.
After the Pledge of Allegiance, the Board heard a presentation from Whitni Kines. She shared some new details on funding and personnel for Harrison County Schools. Of particular interest was the shortfall in excess levy collections that otherwise would have gone to the school system.
The levy at the current time shows that in 2022 it fell short by $235,000. In 2023, $937,000, then in 2024 it was $3.8 million under expected revenues. In 2025, however, a boom in the oil and gas economy helped the county net approximately $11 million extra. Kines said “we were able to close the fiscal year 2025 without a significant loss in our revenues, reducing our reserves. That is not the case moving forward.”
Kines went over the personnel overages that raised concerns at the West Virginia Department of Education. State officials cited employing significant numbers of personnel over both the school funding formula and the excess levy revenues as a serious problem in their intervention. Kines shared that the monetary measure of personnel over the formula rose from $4 million in 2022 to $13.3 million currently.
With the aid formula tied to the ratio of both categories of school personnel to student numbers, the loss of 1,141 during that time frame plus pay raises and the increasing cost of PEIA “push that average up and up.”
“We’re pushing the 200 number,” she noted, then added “one major assumption on these personnel numbers . . . is that the certified list as submitted to the State is 100 percent accurate.” Kines reaffirmed later “there are real issues with the certified list.”
Kines added that the State will start using actual salaries instead of averages in reports and calculations. Numbers may not get completely revamped until next year, however.
Next, Superintendent Dora Stutler shared that the central office held orientation for 17 new personnel “and hopefully they will start out this year on a positive note.” She added that “we have streamlined . . . onboarding” to ensure that new hires have their technology access, identification, and everything necessary in place before starting on the job.
On the facilities report, it was shared that “at Big Elm Elementary we poured 60 new yards of concrete. It looks really good.” Also, crews added 400 new feet of drains to help carry surface water away from Lincoln High School while also repairing benches in front of Lincoln Middle School. Split after ‘Lincoln Middle School.’ so the final two sentences form a new paragraph:
The report detailed fixes to other schools in the area as well.
It was noted that in some cases work orders get set aside so that the school facilities will be ready for children upon their return.
In the facilities report, it was revealed that the State Fire Marshal’s Office issued 158 citations in 20 schools for various issues, mostly minor. Many citations came for storing objects in areas and creating barriers to electric panels, improper use of power strips, or fire doors propped open. “Probably more than half of these citations will go away,” it was shared.
As maintenance issues ended and the discussion of transportation commenced, it was revealed that the school system will “run short of drivers” for school buses. One driver resigned last week while a substitute on a full time route also indicated that he would not drive it this year either. Many counties have also found bus drivers difficult to hire and retain.