FAIRMONT — Kim Middlemas spent much of her adult life serving the county's children as a teacher and principal in Marion County Schools.
From now on, I would like to provide guidance as a member of the Board of Education. If given the opportunity to serve on the school board, Middlemas hopes to keep the county's schools in a good position.
“I hope I can help make Marion County a county that people recognize as one of the top five counties in West Virginia,” she said. “That's what I want to do. I want to have an impact that makes people look up to us and want us to be a model for Marion County.”
The Board of Education has five members, and Marion County has three school districts: Palatine, Middletown, and West Augusta. He cannot have more than two commissioners on the board at the same time in a single district. This was designed to ensure that no particular district had a majority of seats on the board. Donna Costello (West Augusta), Tom Dragic (Middletown) and George Boyles (Palatine) are not running for election.
Ms. Middlemas was principal of Pleasant Valley Elementary School for 15 years and personally led the school to the fourth-highest test-scoring school in the state, she said.
Middlemas said the most pressing issue facing the county's schools is teacher retention. She wants to find a way to make the county competitive with Harrison County on salaries. Addressing this is part of a larger systemic problem related to Marion County's demographics. The state as a whole is grappling with new ways to encourage young people to stay in the state and work in the state's industries, a long-standing challenge for young people fleeing to other states and cities in search of opportunity.
This is an important issue to address because school funding is tied to enrollment. Enrollment will continue to decline unless families choose to take their children out of state and young people choose to settle here and have children. School system funding is determined by a state algorithm that considers enrollment as one of the factors. Overall, enrollment continues to decline in Marion County schools.
“I know if there are any incentives, but I don’t know all the amounts,” she said. “And you heard me say on the forum how important it is to know exactly how much money you can spend. Even if we could give them incentives and agree to keep them going for four or five years.”
Middlemas acknowledged that he now knows many intricacies about how state funding for public education works. But if she is elected, she is committed to continuing to learn.
But there is one area that Middlemas sees as having a negative impact on school funding. It's homeschooling, charters, and HOPE scholarships.
“If your child is homeschooled or on the Hope Scholarship, you lose that money,” she said. “Public schools lose that money. I don't agree. I don't agree with taking money from the county. I don't agree with taking money from the county so students can be homeschooled or go to private school. i disagree.”
Ultimately, Middlemas believes economic growth is tied to school attendance. For the former, the challenge is to help young people find employment opportunities in the region. But it's difficult for school boards to find ways to work with other political and economic groups in the county to improve economic opportunity while staying in that lane.
“Personally, I think it's more important than just getting students into school,” she says. “Young people now want to live in Marion County.”
Middlemass is also supporting the construction of new schools for children in the county.
When it comes to students, Middlemas is a big believer in the work special education workers do to address behavioral problems in schools. However, Middlemas believes students need to be able to use technology. There's no substitute for a one-on-one relationship with a teacher, she said, especially when it comes to math education. Mathematics becomes more difficult in middle school, she said. She is also good at English language and social studies. Discussion and conversation are important elements in teaching these subjects. She also supports artistic endeavors.
“I think art is so important,” she said. “That's where a lot of students end up. They don't want to see art cuts, music, bands, things like that. It's very helpful to give students focus and something to think about outside of school. I think that’s important.”
Middlemas also wants to see more community involvement in the Regional School Improvement Council. These councils are required by state law and exist in each public school in West Virginia. Membership is made up of teachers, service personnel, families, businesses, and community representatives. Members are elected to the council. It is important for community members to attend meetings so they can know what is happening at the school.
Middlemas is an avid reader, reading everything from leadership books to fiction and nonfiction. She is well versed in genre novels such as fantasy works. Exploring her different types of fiction allows her to explore different sides of herself and consider who she is apart from the rigors of her daily life.
“I enjoy the feeling of removing myself,” she said. “What it does is you just remove yourself for a while and put yourself somewhere else. So you can enjoy a different type of life, a different type of thinking.”