FAIRMONT – There were two George Boyles answering roll at Monday’s meeting of the Marion County Board of Education.
The present-day George Boyles wielded the gavel one final time as BOE president. He chose not to seek reelection in the May primary after a four-year run.
Metaphorically and historically, he was joined by his dad, the late George “Doc” Boyles, local dentist who served 30 years after his first election to the board in 1966.
“Maybe I knocked out some of his bad habits,” Doc’s son joked, while his fellow board members – Pastor James Saunders and Tom Dragich, in particular – laughed appreciatively.
Both worked extensively with the first Boyles version, both on the board and in administration at the district.
Saunders is a longtime incumbent who often served as president with Doc Boyles as his vice president, and the other way around.
“I always respected Doc,” the pastor told the son, “and I respect what you’ve brought to the board.”
Doc Boyles, meanwhile, was a proud graduate of the original East Fairmont High School on Alta Vista Avenue. He got to know Dragich, who was then principal there, when it came time to build the school’s replacement on Airport Road.
Into the construction, and by the time students finally moved, the pair had logged daily meetings, if not in person, at least by telephone.
A friendship was forged, even if it was sometimes like pulling teeth, Dragich said.
“He was a taskmaster, but your dad and I got pretty close,” he said. “And you’ve made quite a contribution to our school district.”
It was George Boyles, the son, with whom Dragich aligned during the recent wrangling over the renewal, or not, of current Superintendent Donna Heston’s contract.
They were in favor of keeping Heston on – and it eventually happened.
Boyles is stepping down in the midst of critical safety improvements to the district. Safe Schools entrances are being installed this summer in Marion’s mostly aging buildings.
And this fall, teachers and other personnel will debut emergency alert badges designed to electronically alert police in an active shooter circumstance.
When the board next meets on July 6, it will debut Boyles’ replacement.
Sam Brunett, a Morgantown High School teacher who was West Virginia’s Art Educator of the Year in 2018, was the top vote-getter in the May primary.
He’s a Fairmont native who still resides in his hometown.
Boyles, meanwhile, said his retirement plans will be up in the air – literally.
That will be due to all the plane rides he’ll be taking to visit his daughter, Jan Boyles, a former West Virginia newspaper reporter who is now director of the School of Journalism at the University of Arizona.
Boyles appreciates his colleagues, he said, for their commitment to Marion’s schools that always reminded him of his dad’s.
“Thanks, everyone,” he said, bringing the gavel down.
