By Stephen Smoot
“We ask that You help us do Your will and Your work,” prayed Hardy County Schools Superintendent Sheena Van Meter as she opened the school board meeting with the customary invocation.
After all recited the Pledge of Allegiance and introduced themselves Melvin Shook, who ran the meeting on this occasion announced “welcome everybody. It’s good to see everyone.”
Josh See opened with “quite a few notes” worth of ongoing and recently completed work in the county’s school facilities. He discussed the installation of LED lighting in Moorefield Intermediate School. See noted a donation from E. A. Hawse that allowed the refurbishment of gymnasium floors there.
“That floor probably looks better than it did the doors opened,” See informed attendees.
Not as triumphant have been the efforts to isolate the source of a water leak on the East Hardy campus. Since last fall, workers have searched for it under the ground – even hand digging at times. Over the spring and summer, consistent use of the outdoor athletic facilities has hindered the effort as well.
He called it “a hiccup and a headache,” and told that they are “trying our best to try and find that leak.” Asked about the source of the water, See said it came from the Public Service District.
At Moorefield Middle School, See reported that work on the boiler room is “98 percent complete” then explained the details of what work had been done and what remained to be finished.
Crews also changed out many of the ceiling tiles at MMS. Leaks from the ceiling had damaged many of the original work. See stated that the tiles “were obsolete and mismatched all over the building” and the replacements “are all brand new.” He added that the roof leaks that created the problem have also been addressed and that workers are waiting on a heavy rain to make sure they were repaired successfully.
Moorefield High School, however, has endured issues with unexplained power outages over the summer. “We have to come in constantly to turn the power back on,” See shared. With the school system severing a work agreement with its landscaping company, personnel have had to tackle growth of grass and weeds. See said that he expects to have a new contractor soon. Workers have had to mow repeatedly to pare down the overgrowth to manageable levels.
Van Meter then shared data on in school and out of school suspension numbers comparing 2023-24 and 2024-25. In school suspensions increased by one, from 58 to 59, but out of school dropped from 93 to 65. She explained that the drop triggered questioning from the West Virginia Department of Education.
“We improved so much, they wanted to know why,” she stated, then went on to add that “we were telling administrators as much as possible to keep kids in school.” Van Meter then said that the goal lay in keeping children in the school environment if possible, rather than “just kicking them out of school.”
Improvement in this metric also showed in the chronic absence numbers as well. Students get counted as absent when on out of school suspension.
Next came discussion of the new transfer policy prior to the second reading. School Board have the ability to alter proposed new policies until passage without scheduling additional public readings.
After an executive session to discuss property issues, Van Meter passed around copies of the personal electronic device policy. Most student handbooks were published prior to the passage of the policy, so students will receive the policy directly and separately from the handbook. The policies of Moorefield Elementary and Moorefield Middle Schools allow no phone use at all.
Many have concluded in error that the counties passed policies on their own. In fact, the West Virginia State Legislature passed an act last spring outlawing use in the classroom, but left up to counties how to tailor the details of the mandate. While systems support the law, they had no choice in whether or not to create and pass prohibitive policies.
One of the last topics discussed did not have the significant weight of policy impact, but could add color and fun to the Hardy County senior student experience. Van Meter shared that some had proposed allowing seniors to receive a dedicated parking place that they could decorate within reasonable guidelines.
“Grant County did this,” Van Meter told the Board. “They allow seniors only to paint their parking spots.” Lincoln High School in Shinnston has allowed the practice for years, but it has caught on nationally.
One Board member exclaimed that it was “a neat idea.’ Van Meter stated that they’d allow “no political messages” and would “play it by ear” in terms of any issues with students’ decisions on how to express themselves.
An NBC News report on the trend included an image of a space painted white with black lettering reading “if you can read this, I’m late.” Most decorated with brilliant colors and positive messaging.
Finally the Board heard numbers from the largest sale of student raised livestock, in terms of dollars, in the history of the Tri County Fair. Almost 260 children from the three counties sold approximately $647,000 in livestock. It was stated that they “keep 98 to 99 percent of that.”
Hogs sold for an average of $2,100 a piece, market beefs for $5,500 a steer, $1,500 per goat, and lambs for $1,600.
Board members discussed how the effort builds “a sense of responsibility.” Van Meter talked of “the emotional toll it takes on them,” when they sell the animals they had cared for over months of time.
