With Hancock County electing 3 new members to the Board after the May 12th election, they will be on the board in July of this year.
The purpose of the board is to create policy, set the budget, hire teachers, and oversee student welfare. I interviewed Daniel Shearer, and he said, “I think it is going downhill” about the current board and hopes the new board “can make the school experience better for the younger students.”
The first person elected to the board was Jeff Woofter, from the Clay District of the county. He was formerly the Barbour County Superintendent until he retired from the role in 2023. Mr. Woofter is also a graduate of both Penn State and Oak Glen High.
“When I served as Superintendent of Barbour3 County Schools for 8 years, I spent a great deal of time in schools talking with faculty, staff and students and using the information gathered from each of them to help manage our school system. I anticipate having an open mind and listening to all relevant stakeholders and using the information gleaned from them to make good decisions.”
Another new member of the board is Melissa Bane, who was also elected from the Clay District. She started teaching in 2010 at Allen T. Allison Elementary and currently does work at WVU with the STEAM program. She is also a former student at Weir High School.
“The only way to really know what is going on is to listen to all stakeholders. Many issues are complex, and it is important that leaders are willing to hear both concerns and ideas. For many years now, teamwork has been a huge factor in my professional life. I truly believe it is the way to make meaningful, sustainable improvements.”
Then, Tiffany Gale, owner, and director of Miss Tiffany’s School for Young Children in Weirton, and executive director of the West Virginia Women’s Alliance, was elected from the Butler District.
After Gale won a seat on the board, she posted on Facebook “I’m excited to get to work advocating for strong public education, supporting students and teachers, and helping build the best possible future for Hancock County Schools. Thank you again for trusting me with this opportunity.”
With three fresh faces on the board, people are hoping for the school board to be better than the previous one. 33 students answered a poll and rated the Last School board a 1.94 out of 5. 10th grader Taryn Arnold wrote “There is some stuff that have been handled well but some stuff in general hasn’t. It’s been a whole mess with the school board too.”
