[{"_1":2,"_124":-5,"_125":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88,100,112],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6264822,"mediaKeyId","3095816-e58484f36e69e77d9628fdf9f1eddb51","parentId",3095816,"title","Votes at a glance: April 21 Berkeley County Schools board meeting","audioSeconds",910,"startMs",41445,"endMs",951450,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3095816-e58484f36e69e77d9628fdf9f1eddb51&start=41&end=951","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3095816-e58484f36e69e77d9628fdf9f1eddb51/thumbnail_41445.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6264822/West-Virginia/Votes-at-a-glance-April-21-Berkeley-County-Schools-board-meeting","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6264822-74c10abbc1d87b032f4c0c5771324d62/orig.mp4?Expires=1770387860&Signature=cqFZ4HuMfhczqQfPO8N5UCwHqiEXp3HwSwmGCXGg5lUrEjBso9y4UOo7jzIfB9gDfsR964m0x5NQuiwvSroyO3028aU99AVVGUTAaE8jFg7abj1pjh12VfZu6tgIdvQ1nV-AdP0TOMvvQrbGnJmetFQkk9ZWRKiS~gz82UAqMwjve2C1n6g4dpESe9J9Rjzzr~EP5D~woQUziRUFJHcex7q3k27d8raEXgXxWl9WZ63P4EVbtAfQ1C9dnXld7OkbtW8Q3TsWc9Hs1NA9fjA57H2oL437mscd4brVjmPC7pQLPoH2Fgp14xwmbXH4uDV9bOU32IeIqmxaz49X7WvCUg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Berkeley County Schools","date","2025-04-23T16:27:05.483Z","article","The Berkeley County Board of Education took several votes on April 21. Most approvals were by voice vote; meeting minutes recorded affirmative \"Aye\" responses when the chair called for the vote.

Key votes

- Virtual instruction policy (Policy IB) ' Adopted as presented after staff and legal revisions. (See separate coverage.)

- Pre-K calendar 2025-26 ' Approved. The calendar requires 4,800 student instructional minutes and a five-day, six-hour schedule with embedded professional development days.

- Pre-K instructional materials adoption ' Creative Curriculum for Preschool (PC Strategies, LLC) adopted as the district's preschool curriculum; staff indicated kits and online subscriptions were purchased in August.

- Consent agenda ' Passed after a minor correction clarified an item referencing reductions (board recorded 'Aye').

- Personnel actions ' The board approved a slate of personnel items including coaching resignations, appointments, changes of assignment, and substitute appointments. Staff reported a total of 29 combined coaching, professional, service and substitute actions on the agenda; the superintendent recommended approval.

Other procedural votes and approvals were taken as part of the meeting; several contested operational or discussion items were handled as informational items and will be the subject of follow-up work by district staff.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Board of Education Meeting 4/21/25","oneSentenceSummary","Summary of routine and substantive votes taken during the board meeting, including policy IB adoption, pre-K calendar and curriculum adoption, consent agenda and personnel actions.","taxTitle","BERKELEY COUNTY SCHOOLS, School Districts, West Virginia","taxId",13060,"location","West Virginia","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6264827,"District updates projects: Mountain Ridge addition, Martinsburg renovations near milestones",289,8481950,8771790,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3095816-e58484f36e69e77d9628fdf9f1eddb51&start=8481&end=8771","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3095816-e58484f36e69e77d9628fdf9f1eddb51/thumbnail_8481950.jpg","/articles/6264827/West-Virginia/District-updates-projects-Mountain-Ridge-addition-Martinsburg-renovations-near-milestones","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6264827-d6f8f1270f40709d791388a16031a162/orig.mp4?Expires=1770387860&Signature=eCMXHeY8x05IWZ7hH9RA8bZO6k3-2~vhFl7A-N~zJImZ-~dWSJ2gvU2LTzO~UxihGcGZRsd8cKre4rTCyfXOWCbDyaQN8C63xnIE0AGo0TeAqvnrvRlmNO3F4xUabIj4b8luA8O5vnwn054OmkRmHPEnft6YozQsYdlU-Ev2AdO6k5EPRsxOnTOTRzPteE9gwEpIdJAmApN9ESt4MlLij8QfPD29-Z9mUlaDK5xKItd2bXUczhnY3yusQNvsznZt0v23FKq3F7hzC2Kwy4Z77bqSdfJNDAqKKWG7SwZHn4FkQq1RbuUavGobxunpscTLlK0Zo6GQxjGYh-AMw7aNrQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","District facilities staff reported construction updates at the April 21 meeting, providing timelines and the current status of several capital projects.

The Mountain Ridge Primary School classroom addition (24 classrooms) is under contract review with Warner Construction and submittals have been sent to the State School Building Authority; staff said the project completion target remains July 2026. Facilities staff emphasized that soil remediation and other site items were already accounted for in the contract because material from recent turf projects had been staged for reuse.

At Tomahawk Intermediate, crews have finished the steel structural system, exterior framing and roof decking, and the building is essentially enclosed. At Martinsburg High School, masonry and roofing work are nearly complete and interior HVAC ductwork is in place; demolition of the upper auditorium plaster and balcony removal is substantially finished.

Spring Mills press boxes are scheduled to finish the same week as the meeting, including stair fabrication and grading work to establish gravel connections between the press boxes and the parking lanes. Facilities staff said the contractor confirmed stair installation for Wednesday and Thursday of the meeting week.

Staff also noted a minor omission discovered at Martinsburg near the instrument storage area; they are working with the architect and contractor on a value-engineering inventory to determine if any other items were cut from the bid and will report back.

Board members set a tentative ribbon-cutting for the Mountain Ridge project in late April/early May and asked facilities to confirm a firm date when SBA approvals and contractor schedules are finalized.

The facilities update was informational and did not require board action at the meeting.","Superintendent and facilities staff updated the board on multiple building projects: Mountain Ridge primary classroom addition moved to bid process, Tomahawk and Martinsburg work ongoing, Spring Mills press boxes and grading finishing this week.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6264832,"Teachers and service staff press board on staffing, discipline, PD and safety",2542,3691065,6233730,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3095816-e58484f36e69e77d9628fdf9f1eddb51&start=3691&end=6233","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3095816-e58484f36e69e77d9628fdf9f1eddb51/thumbnail_3691065.jpg","/articles/6264832/West-Virginia/Teachers-and-service-staff-press-board-on-staffing-discipline-PD-and-safety","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6264832-d7d957c545280aca38d7185002b3f66b/orig.mp4?Expires=1770387860&Signature=Q8EwJFEVsRokfwppFdo2h23ypRgFXS-~pp6G9HjHgiolJ3i8~yN2FfoANKd6fLE1r7WijHNZVdGYlTqc~wC1JK0wpYCiGizQlP7KcyUainovXyKitikG2ux1MecZwo2~CkVvOjz724LOYdGPBjCwJke11n0--h1BV-cpv6d7crdXBKFuMrDZ2LVdl7uxZ3b6gFXE~VaHEt3qi2OHPfPXWnTWfY33WLCcaGHLmIiEjOVc4KKs6XmoNlrqpb6q0CeN95q2Ug-mcm1~VAcB7GWE~2~Z~lifEGfegJI-D8Tj6sfwup~~CMeg8enmHP-f8UdioGn6kRuOcJLnQMVgBevgmA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Representatives from the district's faculty senates and service personnel used the April 21 meeting to press the Board of Education and superintendent on staffing, student behavior, professional development and safety concerns across Berkeley County Schools.

Kelsey Strelick, primary faculty senate president and an elementary teacher, told the board the group's meeting with senior staff highlighted successes such as KinderCam and MacBook access but also raised sustained concerns: reduced Title I interventionists, cuts to pre-K ECAT aid, losses of gifted-program positions, and growing student mental-health needs. \"We need our professional experience to be trusted, we need our time to manage it all, and we need our instructional teammates,\" Strelick said.

Faculty representatives said the district's move to reduce interventionists and certain support roles is creating a \"triage\" system that leaves students with minor gaps without support and puts extra burden on classroom teachers. They urged the district to consider alternatives to blanket, countywide professional development sessions and asked for more differentiated, school- and content-specific training.

Board members and Superintendent Saxon acknowledged the concerns and said the district is working on strategic planning to blend districtwide and school-based professional learning, to grow teacher leaders and to support implementation and coaching.

Service personnel and bus aides raised extensive concerns about safety, training and staffing. A representative for service personnel described incidents where classroom aides and bus staff have been injured while attempting to manage student behavior and asked for clearer training and de-escalation strategies for staff working in constrained environments such as buses. \"They want training and they want to be taken seriously. They don't want to be put in a position where they feel they're going to be injured,\" the service-personnel speaker said.

Meeting presenters detailed several practical problems: shortage of substitutes, reassignments tied to pre-K and school consolidations, chronic truancy patterns requiring community solutions, and overcrowding at specific schools that contributes to traffic and safety risks at arrival and dismissal. Hedgesville and Spring Mills middle schools were cited for acute overcrowding that affects classroom conditions and parent pickup safety.

On disciplinary matters, representatives asked the district to revisit the discipline matrix to differentiate consequences for primary, intermediate and middle-school students and to add supports such as cessation programs for vaping-related incidents. Board members indicated they would reconvene the discipline committee and asked administration to look into clearer parent-accountability measures.

Superintendent Sachs and other administrators responded on multiple fronts: they noted the board had maintained a housing stipend in recent negotiations to help retain staff and said some grant-funded positions are inherently time-limited. Sachs said the district will work with teacher leaders and principals to redesign professional development opportunities and to ensure consistent implementation of behavioral supports.

The board thanked faculty senate representatives and service staff for specific solution ideas and asked administration to return with more precise plans for training, staffing priorities and safety interventions.","Faculty senate representatives and service personnel described staffing cuts, reduced interventionists, behavior and vaping concerns, professional development mismatches, overcrowding and transportation safety. District leaders acknowledged the issues and promised follow-up.",{"_33":101,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":102,"_41":103,"_43":104,"_45":105,"_47":106,"_49":107,"_51":108,"_53":109,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":110,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":111,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6264837,"Board adopts pre-K calendar and reaffirms Creative Curriculum for preschool",451,570630,1022399,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3095816-e58484f36e69e77d9628fdf9f1eddb51&start=570&end=1022","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3095816-e58484f36e69e77d9628fdf9f1eddb51/thumbnail_570630.jpg","/articles/6264837/West-Virginia/Board-adopts-pre-K-calendar-and-reaffirms-Creative-Curriculum-for-preschool","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6264837-8c95aa111b378479574d32af2955a29d/orig.mp4?Expires=1770387860&Signature=PYj8sUaff9wivOtIvivJ8MWwt8BcnI6wFeRGRbpf2v1XVErWYZcglX2eOzze21JDrg7Py0aifdhTKvLVFOq~M-DkHjNaAnS-lTpZtRUUYvRG1MslE5OZ1JVYzM1zzkk7CwpJ2Bygv06SaMUQiYYPSn4Euy2VNniEkToKr3RJ-dMSEWmH3KhZpu4b4MWcfI0ueAnywiEGqXeg-tP1dg9V~-pTEge1ddCXB4snQ1FmbeCgRJ~4RKPuJEUb4z7-2t3cmjRGf~qEpjHicBoHaju0F2H2tQZN9KASeo19fq5a8~RPL7GeJ9fq4-QnEhyAeDquD0GXkEsIK7af4p5lPqJihQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Berkeley County Board of Education voted April 21 to approve the 2025-26 pre-K calendar and adopt the Creative Curriculum for preschool instruction.

Assistant Director of Pre-K Sarah Wolf presented the calendar on behalf of director Dr. Hoke and said the program requires 4,800 minutes of annual instruction delivered as a five-day, six-hour program with embedded professional development days for teachers. \"Students are required to attend 4,800 minutes annually,\" Wolf said, adding the calendar mirrors prior years with a staggered August start and a May 28 conclusion.

The board also considered the instructional-materials adoption required by statute. District staff said the pre-K adoption process followed state guidance: staff participated in vendor showcases, a local adoption committee including Pre-K teachers and special-education representatives reviewed vendor materials, and the county's pre-K core team made the final recommendation.

After review, the committee recommended The Creative Curriculum for Preschool (PC Strategies, LLC). Wolf said teachers favored that program for its inquiry-based, play- and project-oriented units, leveled instructional prompts and a combined print-and-online teacher support platform. \"The teachers said they like this curriculum because it's flexible to meet children's interests and natural curiosities,\" Wolf said.

Board members moved and seconded both items. The calendar and the Creative Curriculum adoption passed on voice votes; meeting minutes record unanimous \"Aye\" responses.

Staff noted the district purchased additional print and electronic kits last August so every classroom has a full set of materials; there are no consumable student workbooks under the curriculum and ongoing online subscriptions are part of the district's instructional management plan. Staff said follow-up will include implementation supports and tracking of any subscription renewals in future budgets.

The action preserves the district's existing pre-K structure and keeps the Creative Curriculum in place for the coming school year.","The district approved the 2025-26 pre-K calendar and formally adopted The Creative Curriculum for preschool classrooms; staff said the curriculum supports inquiry-based, developmentally appropriate practice and recent purchases provided classroom kits.",{"_33":113,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":114,"_41":115,"_43":116,"_45":117,"_47":118,"_49":119,"_51":120,"_53":121,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":122,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":123,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6264842,"Board approves clearer rules for virtual instruction program",38,556775,594940,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3095816-e58484f36e69e77d9628fdf9f1eddb51&start=556&end=594","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3095816-e58484f36e69e77d9628fdf9f1eddb51/thumbnail_556775.jpg","/articles/6264842/West-Virginia/Board-approves-clearer-rules-for-virtual-instruction-program","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6264842-df88ef711e67c14104518e06490289a5/orig.mp4?Expires=1770387860&Signature=Xs10c3D2N6Zo2K-ONw132NdN-7bCkeggWKAy2k-Yth7PUjdsruNDzFem1ahKuRJ3E93FBf249-vSPcKC4x-Hm9sRWID0Z1brPqDfbWVyQDgdhNpxdo26MnGSmNXBPcsBiljDnydrbbzNnB~jJ84~up8NoNDfbrLhuKqZ0SJZ~~WVHyFJ1SNW7Q~dS7j1bM2d~u4ud9sb7Ny9cdSFrf6AYhm~NitxSdxXLzh75AjYbCLBRd8sfH91wOtNpdU2nd7uQncqI3p-bRiwLC9uo0ka-R3Fn~JbDHP-35enpa8Oa8vvKXfbhQyHE9OeCC2KNdZGR46CRlEofjkEDA~YNVQAIw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Berkeley County Board of Education on April 21 adopted revised language for Policy IB, the district's virtual instruction program policy, after staff and legal review.

Board members voted to accept the updated policy, which staff said was rewritten to be more specific about eligibility, attendance and participation in extracurricular activities for students enrolled in virtual instruction. Holly Branch, the district's virtual program coordinator, told the board the revisions reflect recommendations from the district's attorney and aim to make the policy more explicit.

\"The lawyers looked at our 2020 policy and asked us to be more specific with several items, especially eligibility and attendance,\" Branch said. She told the board the document was reorganized and recategorized to improve flow and to add provisions the attorney recommended.

District staff said the most substantive changes clarify which students qualify for full-time virtual instruction, how attendance will be tracked for funding and instructional continuity, and how participation in extracurricular programs is handled for virtual-enrolled students.

Board members moved and seconded adoption of the revised policy; the motion passed on a voice vote. The board did not record a roll-call tally in the meeting minutes beyond the affirmative \"Aye\" responses the chair called for.

The revisions were presented as a redlined replacement of the existing policy, with black text showing retained language and red/underlined text marking edits recommended by counsel. Staff indicated the changes respond to questions that arise when parents and administrators interpret the policy in rostering and scheduling decisions.

The board directed staff to post the revised policy to the district website and to publish guidance for building administrators on implementation steps, including attendance coding and eligibility review processes.

The vote concludes a multi-stage review that staff said included the district attorney's input and a staff rewrite to make the program rules easier for parents and schools to apply.

Looking ahead, staff said they will collect implementation questions and return to the board only if further clarifications are necessary.","The Berkeley County Board of Education approved revisions to Policy IB to clarify eligibility, attendance and extracurricular rules for the district's virtual instruction program after legal review and staff recommendations.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Votes at a glance: April 21 Berkeley County Schools board meeting

District updates projects: Mountain Ridge addition, Martinsburg renovations near milestones

Teachers and service staff press board on staffing, discipline, PD and safety

Board adopts pre-K calendar and reaffirms Creative Curriculum for preschool

Board approves clearer rules for virtual instruction program