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

‘This gives me hope’: Turnout for first meeting on Comprehensive Educational Facilities Plan well-attended

Break-out groups of concerned residents discuss the ideal Upshur County School System and what that looks like as well as what is needed to reach that ideal situation.

BUCKHANNON – The Upshur County Board of Education hosted the first of many conversations with community partners to help form the CEFP – the Comprehensive Educational Facilities Plan Thursday afternoon.

“This is a 10-year plan we are charged to do,” Upshur County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Sara Lewis Stankus explained. “Thank you for being here and thank you for caring about our students and their education.”

Upshur County Schools treasurer George Carver explained West Virginia is unique when it comes to facilities.

“In order to build school facilities, you have to go to the voters and get approval for a bond,” he said. “In Pennsylvania, if the school district wants to build a new school, they raise taxes until the bonds are paid for. But, in West Virginia, the Legislature has enacted several code sections that govern how facilities are constructed and maintained.”

Carver said in West Virginia, the West Virginia State Board of Education has policy 6200 which outlines what must be in a CEFP.

“It talks about the 10-year plan each school district has to do,” he said. “The first thing it says you have to do is establish a CEFP planning team and committees representing citizens and staff of each attendance area. In Upshur County, we have one high school, so we have only one attendance area.”

Carver said that team then develops county-wide goals and objectives.

“Then they translate educational needs into facility needs. That is what we are going to ask people involved in the committee to do,” Carver said. “We will have members talk about what we, as a community, want for our schools and how we want to do that, then assess the facilities we already have and then look at what we need to do to improve those facilities and add or subtract to those facilities over the next 10 years.”

Those attending broke into small groups to discuss four items as they relate to academics, facilities, athletics, extracurricular activities, the arts an career/technical education – the ideal picture of an Upshur County School system; what aspects of the picture are already in effect; where is growth necessary in order to attain this system; and how the system can be realized.

Ideas suggested from the groups included: increasing the size and the amount of offerings in career and technical education; staying ahead of the curve of what is needed/required by those hiring in the area and across the United States; hosting meetings in the smaller communities of Upshur County to let folks know what is happening and solicit their input and needs; and be more inclusive.

Assistant Upshur County Schools Superintendent Dr. Debra Harrison at Thursday’s forum on developing a CEFP.

Additional ideas were integrating career/technical education with academics; replacing old facilities such as the high school or middle school; teaching life skills; focusing on quality of assignments rather than teaching to a test; helping students develop critical thinking skills; addressing student mental health issues; developing support and training resources for parents; collaborating on grant writing; encouraging after-school activities; and surveying students to learn what they feel they need.

“All of my life when I was a little kid, I dreamed about leaving Upshur County,” Vanessa Perkins said. “I joined the military and I did – and as an adult, all I wanted to do was come back to Upshur County.”

She said the reason she wanted to come back was because Upshur County is a great place to live and raise children.

“I firmly believe that we are a county, that given the opportunity, can turn our education system around by supporting it,” she said. “The main thing that I think, as a parent and a community member, is our teachers do a wonderful job teaching. But the problem is they are doing so much more than teaching – they are feeding kids, clothing kids, counseling kids and children have to have their needs met to learn.

“So, I feel in order to achieve that, we need community partnerships for our children. We need groups to come into our schools and offer children the needs they must have so our education system can then educate our children.”

She said county should focus on meeting the needs of the children and the assets in the community must do so via partnerships.

“The middle class is often forgotten,” she said. “I think a lot of children don’t want to go to college and area afraid to go to the technical school, and they don’t have the best home life. They need an outlet. So why not partner with our communities to offer internships for our children? There, they can learn and can apply what they are learning in their job and find a home per se.”

“And it starts building pride in our community,” Perkins added. “We have to come together and have pride in what we have and we have to come together as a community before we can fix anything else.”

Another important issue Carver highlighted was population. He said most of the counties surrounding Upshur are losing population, but Upshur has basically the same amount of people as it had 10 years ago.

“That speaks volumes to our county,” he said. “With the addition of pre-K, it also means our facilities are overcrowded.”

BOE President Dr. Tammy Samples thanked those gathered Thursday.

“This gives me hope,” Samples said. “We are moving forward, coming up with ways to help our students. I can’t say how much we appreciate everyone coming out today and giving of your time. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, and thank you from our students. This can only benefit them.”

Following Thursday’s gathering, Stankus said she was pleased with the input and ideas that came from the session.

“I loved the ideas that we heard today,” Stankus said. “I am really excited about the positive energy from our community.”

Share this story:

RECENT Stories

B-U tennis teams earn split in road outing with Fairmont Senior

The Buckhannon-Upshur tennis teams split matches against Fairmont Senior, with the boys falling 5-2 and the girls securing a 6-1 victory in Big 10 Conference play at East Marion Park.

Lady Bucs gain three wins at weekly home track meet

The Buckhannon-Upshur Lady Bucs secured three event victories, including two relays and the long jump, and finished second overall at their home track meet with 141 points against seven competing teams.

Track and Field Bucs win five events in weekly home meet

The Buckhannon-Upshur track and field Buccaneers won five events, including three individual and two relay victories, during their weekly eight-team home meet, with several athletes also earning runner-up and top-six finishes.

Lacrosse Bucs have easy time in 21-3 win over Preston

The Buckhannon-Upshur boys lacrosse team dominated Preston 21-3, with ten Bucs scoring and a decisive 40-5 shot advantage, improving their season record to 4-3.

Moss has five goals as Lady Bucs down Fairmont Senior 12-1 in lacrosse action

Mallory Moss scored five goals to lead the Buckhannon-Upshur Lady Bucs to a dominating 12-1 lacrosse victory over Fairmont Senior, improving their season record to 4-2.
WVWC Track - Wesleyan Sports

Wesleyan softball gets split with West Virginia State

West Virginia Wesleyan softball split a doubleheader with West Virginia State, winning the opener 5–1 behind Kendall Stoffel’s dominant pitching before dropping the second game 8–7 after a late comeback effort fell short.

City considers using opioid abatement money to support new Wesleyan addiction counseling initiative

Buckhannon City Council agreed to partner with West Virginia Wesleyan College to support a new online graduate certificate in addiction counseling, potentially using opioid litigation settlement funds to provide scholarships for local professionals.

Sheriff of Upshur County accepting applications for part-time Courthouse Security positions

The Sheriff of Upshur County is looking for individuals interested in part-time / fill-in courthouse security positions, with applications available at the courthouse until positions are filled.

Softball Lady Bucs rally past Bridgeport in seventh-inning for 9-8 win; Abel grand slam lifts them to 13-7 victory over Elkins

The Buckhannon-Upshur Lady Bucs softball team earned Big 10 Conference wins over Bridgeport with a dramatic seventh-inning rally and Elkins with an Abel grand slam, improving their season record to 8-6.

Baseball Bucs beat Lewis County 7-3; put 20 on the scoreboard in victory over Elkins

The Buckhannon-Upshur Buccaneers baseball team went 2-1 this week, beating Lewis County 7-3 and Elkins 20-10 after falling to Bridgeport, bringing their overall record to 6-5.

Baseball ‘Cats rally to sweep Bluefield State in doubleheader

The West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcats swept a doubleheader against Bluefield State, winning 10-2 behind a dominant offense in game one and rallying for an 8-7 comeback victory in game two.

Woman arrested for allegedly stealing jewelry while cleaning homes in Upshur County

A French Creek woman was arrested and charged with multiple counts of burglary and grand larceny after allegedly stealing more than $70,000 in jewelry and cash while cleaning homes in Upshur County.