Fellowsville school property focus of BOE meeting
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KINGWOOD - The Preston County Board of Education moved this week’s meeting from Kingwood to the Bruceton School library.
Superintendent of Schools Bradley Martin said he has received a written update from the board’s legal counsel Kayla Cook related to efforts to liquidate the Fellowsville School property. He said through her efforts a determination had been made that Blackhawk Land & Resources LLC (based out of Lexington, Kentucky) holds 100% of the reversionary interest associated with the Fellowsville property.
In 2024, members of the Preston County Board of Education voted to begin the process of closing Fellowsville Elementary School and Rowlesburg School with the idea that Fellowsville Elementary students would transfer to South Preston School and Rowlesburg students would transfer to Aurora School. These closures took effect following the 2024-25 school year.
At that time, Fellowsville Elementary School served grades PK-4. The school's last recorded enrollment was 75 students, with a 9:1 student-teacher ratio.
Martin said Blackhawk has advised that 50% of its interest comes through the Easter Associates chain and 50% through the acquisition of Patriot Reserve Holdings. He said they advised that their Preston County holdings were not recorded properly.
Martin said Blackhawk has advised the board’s counsel that they do not want to litigate the matter and would be willing to negotiate a release or waiver of their reversionary interest in the property. However, they have not provided a specific monetary value that they were seeking for the release/waiver.
Board President Lucas Tatham said there are two parcels of land, one the board can separate from the parcel belonging to Blackhawk.
Board Member Cross Kisner said the board could sell their portion, but he said, he did not believe any money they put in the land would be recouped.
No further action was taken.
Bruceton Elementary School Principal Jonathan Knotts showed a presentation consisting of students who were asking students what part of school was their favorite. The answers ranged from recess to math, including seeing friends, basketball, gym class, science and band among the favorites.
Knotts then discussed the district’s multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) directives. He said teachers still report having to spend hours of unpaid, mandatory overtime each week to ensure their records are logged and correct. He said directives require continuous changes and need streamlining to reduce the amount of man hours required for recordkeeping and paperwork. Students now require more interventions than ever due to state mandates as well as identified student data needs. The recordkeeping and implementation process for teachers and schools can best be described as onerous.
"One very effective teacher stated it takes at least 3-5 hours of work per week, in addition to time spent teaching and planning to do the paperwork and tracking effectively. There are also concerns about relying on paper copies of everything. We would like to see the district examine and adopt some sort of electronic MTSS system that allows teachers to quickly input interventions, goals, data, etc. as well as one where the whole MTSS file will follow the student across multiple teachers and even schools without having to rely on copying papers, handing off hard copy documents, etc.," he said.
At-risk students were also discussed. In the Local School Improvement Council question-and-answer portion, he said students must have their base needs met before learning and subsequent success can occur. Student services staff work to provide supports for students and their families. These include school counselor services, referral to outside counseling, community supports and more. Preston County Schools is fortunate to have agreements in place with outside counseling agencies to provide therapeutic counseling services for students at the schools during the school day. This is a vital service and necessary due to the needs of many kids as well as the shortage of providers in the region. We are also fortunate that we have a lot of support from community organizations that will help with things like purchasing personal care items, snacks, etc. for kids and families in need.
In other business, board members:
— Approved a memorandum of understanding between PCS and the WV Extension Family Nutrition Program, and approved a MOU between PCS and WV Birth to Three.
— Discussed whether the position of Transportation Manager should be posted as a service job rather than professional in order to attract a deeper prospective pool of applicants. It is currently listed as professional.
Transportation Manager John Harris is resigning, effective Oct. 2. The salary will be based on the candidate’s degree level, experience, state and county supplements. The employment term is listed as 240 days pro-rated for the 2026-27 school year; effective upon approval for the current school year.