Board approves personnel item as teachers and community members urge retention of positions

The Randolph County Board of Education approved personnel section A, covering employment for extracurricular positions, by voice vote after a motion from Phil and a second by Janie. Chair called the vote and the item passed 5-0.

That vote preceded a night of personnel hearings in which teachers, parents, students and union representatives described the local impact of proposed transfers and position eliminations. Speakers repeatedly tied staffing decisions to class sizes, course availability and student supports across the district.

Mandy Bielen, physical education teacher at Midland Elementary, told the board that projected enrollment of about 122 K–4 students (142 including prekindergarten) justifies two full-time specialists and that shared or part-time staffing would "significantly limit instructional time, reduce program quality, and create scheduling challenges that would ultimately impact student learning." She asked the board to "consider the long term benefits to our students and our school community when making staffing decisions."

Teachers from Elkins High School urged the board not to eliminate secondary math and business computer applications (BCA) positions, saying cuts would reduce upper-level math options and hands-on computer instruction. Ed Burda, BCA instructor at Elkins High School, said the class teaches Microsoft Office and related skills and reported 115 students enrolled this year with roughly 70 preregistered for next year.

Multiple speakers asked the board for clearer answers about how an incoming state requirement, HB 2411, would affect local credit requirements and whether the required computer science credit could be offered at the high school, the tech center or through other options. Administrators agreed to research alignment and return with specifics at the next meeting.

The board closed the session after announcing follow-up hearings the next two nights.