All schools in Upshur County will close at 1 p.m. today. All B-UHS sporting events today are canceled.

Rotary briefed on origin, purpose of Foundation for Better Schools in Upshur County

BUCKHANNON – The Rotary Club of Buckhannon-Upshur recently learned what services the Foundation for Better Schools in Upshur County offers.

The Foundation for Better Schools president Don Nestor spoke during the April 6 Rotary meeting.

“It’s supposed to be a real benefit for the county and for the school system here,” Nestor said. “We began talking about it in early 1997, it was incorporated on Oct. 29, 1997 and we qualified as a 501c3 nonprofit tax-exempt organization.”

While the organization started in 1997, it remained fairly inactive for a number of years.

“It was originally set up because we didn’t have a bond levy, so there were a lot of the things we were not able to fund through normal means, so we had to have a way of raising money for those innovative projects and extra things, so that’s why we started and then when we started passing levies, we didn’t really have the need for it,” Nestor said. “If you go back into the actual purpose, the bylaws say its sole purpose was formed to aid in the betterment and improvement of the public school system in Upshur County, West Virginia.”

He said the organization can accept funds and disperse funds for the betterment and improvement of the public school system.

“That’s including but not limited to maintenance, facilities, capital improvements, purchase or rental of books, supplies, equipment, or education programs,” Nestor said. “It’s supposed to be a vehicle so we can collect money on behalf of people who want to do something in the school system in Upshur County. We can expend money for those purposes if someone comes up and says, ‘Hey, we’re looking for funds,’ we could be a way of receiving the funds, so it’s flexible, and that’s kind of the reason it was set up – to make it easy and fun.”

The foundation regularly works with the Upshur Board of Education because they want to be sure they are helping the school system in the most proficient way possible.

“We want to make sure the school system and the individual schools, the principals and and the Board Office agree with what’s being done and being funded and it’s a legitimate need for the county for the schools,” Nestor said. “When we have funds, we go to them and say, ‘we have certain amount of funds for some specific purpose.’”

Recently, the foundation was involved in the Upshur County Schools Backpack Program.

“Dr. Susan Aloi come to me and talked to Dr. Stankus at the Board Office and said there was a need to do some funding for the backpack program, and some of the funding was coming from foundations like the Pallottine Foundation, but that money needs to go to a foundation, it couldn’t go just into the system,” Nestor said. “We qualify because nutrition is a benefit for the students in Upshur County, it was that flexible, so we got involved.”

Read a more in-depth article about the Foundation for Better Schools and its evolution here.

Share this story:

RECENT Stories

Softball Lady Bucs can’t hang on against Class AAAA No. 3 University in 13-5 loss

Despite an early lead and three RBIs from Alyssa Abel, Buckhannon-Upshur fell 13-5 to No. 3 University in six innings, hampered by four errors and a late-game offensive surge by the Hawks.

Baseball Bucs score three in the seventh to down Grafton, 7-4, fall to Morgantown by a 12-2 score

The Buckhannon-Upshur baseball team rallied with three runs in the seventh inning to beat Grafton 7-4 on Monday, but then suffered a 12-2 mercy-rule loss to Morgantown the following day.

Tennis Bucs lose matches to Lewis County and Elkins

The Buckhannon-Upshur tennis team fell to Lewis County 7-0 and Elkins 4-3 last week in Big 10 Conference play.

Tennis Lady Bucs drop outings to Lewis County and Elkins

The Buckhannon-Upshur tennis Lady Bucs fell to conference rivals Lewis County 5-2 and Elkins 4-3 last week, bringing their season record to 7-6 overall and 4-3 in the Big 10.

B-U’s Alyssa Abel selected to play in the North-South Girls Basketball All-Star Game

Buckhannon-Upshur senior Alyssa Abel, who led her team in scoring and rebounding and surpassed 1,000 career points this season, has been chosen to play for the North in the North-South Girls Basketball All-Star Game.

Wesleyan lacrosse tumbles to Virginia State, 21-7

Virginia State overwhelmed West Virginia Wesleyan 21-7 in women’s lacrosse, with eleven different players scoring and a dominant first quarter, while Nyah Elmer led Wesleyan with four points and eight draw controls.

Buckhannon man arrested after police find fentanyl stamps in vehicle

A man was arrested for felony possession with intent to deliver after police allegedly discovered wax stamps in his vehicle that tested positive for fentanyl.

Buckhannon pair charged after road rage incident leaves car damaged

A Buckhannon man and woman were arrested after a road rage incident in which they allegedly threw bottles at another vehicle, causing over $5,000 in damages and threatening the driver.

Buckhannon-Upshur environmental students experience exciting legal battle with mock trial

Buckhannon-Upshur environmental students participated in a mock trial at the Upshur County Courthouse, learned about Parkersburg v. DuPont, and received advice from renowned lawyer Robert Bilott.

Upshur County Commission Agenda: April 24, 2025

The Upshur County Commission has released the agenda for its upcoming meeting scheduled for April 24, 2025.

City of Buckhannon Water Department announces service interruption on Thursday, April 24

Water service for parts of Vicksburg Road, Pine Street, Royalty Road and Tripp Drive will be interrupted starting at 9 a.m. Thursday, April 24, for repairs.

Alert: Ritchie Street paving to start Wednesday, April 23

Paving of Ritchie Street from College Avenue to Camden Avenue will begin at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, April 23, with residents asked to remove vehicles beforehand to facilitate the work.