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Community speakers urge board to preserve arts, music, PE and BCA amid proposed cuts
Summary
Teachers, students and parents delivered sustained testimony opposing recommendations to cut or reassign art, music, health/PE and Business/Computer Applications positions, citing legal curriculum requirements, strong student participation, workforce relevance and program-building efforts at several schools.
A substantial portion of testimony at the Randolph County Schools special meeting focused on elective and specialty programs the administration recommended altering as part of a staffing plan.
Art teacher Natalie Joseimovich and dozens of community supporters argued against removing the Tiger’s Valley art program. Testimony cited West Virginia Department of Education Policy 2510, recent grant awards (including a $5,000 Snowshoe Foundation grant and a $500 Log Cabin Quilters Guild grant reported during testimony), and enrollment figures Natalie gave (150 first-semester / 96 second-semester; she said she has taught 233 students this year, representing roughly 60% of Tiger’s Valley’s student population). Speakers said losing the art position would leave the county with fewer art teachers per student than similar counties and would impede compliance with state guidance that middle-school visual-art courses be offered.
Logan Mullenex, Tiger’s Valley band and music director, and dozens of parents and students described rapid program growth, a recent All-State selection and a 100-year band tradition. Logan reported 32 participating students and active feeder participation from fifth grade; parents said the band had reintroduced field shows and parades. Multiple music educators and alumni emphasized Policy 2510’s expectations for sequential music offerings in secondary grades.
At Elkins High School several witnesses argued that reducing health and PE staff would dramatically shrink electives and sharply increase class sizes (testimony projected health/PE class sizes rising as high as the mid-30s under a block schedule), removing research-based programs such as vaping-prevention curricula and reducing access to CPR and fitness instruction.
Business/Computer Applications instructor Edward Bura and many students and parents urged retention of BCA as a county offering. Speakers argued that basic productivity software skills are essential to workforce readiness (a witness cited industry reports that a majority of jobs need digital skills) and that virtual-only alternatives or tech-center limits would not accommodate the number of students who need required technology credits.
Administration said draft master schedules had been prepared for some schools and that staff would provide plans showing how electives and required credits could be preserved or covered. The board requested those documents before further action. No final votes were taken at the meeting.
