×
×
homepage logo

Through the Lens (Missing in Action)

By Chuck Clegg - | Jul 31, 2024

Whenever we hear the term “Missing in Action,” we understand it is referring to men and women who during the course of their military service something happened and that individual became lost in time and their fate unknown to friends and family. Their absence leaves a hole in the lives of those left behind.

The term is also used at times, when someone that could have been there was absent for unknown reasons. Unavailable to help in the mission they were supposed to be part of.

Why am I pointing out this term, “Missing in Action”. It is because in light of recent events that have torn a gaping wound in a community, and the rest of the county, some members of the Wetzel County Board of Education have been… “Missing in Action”.

Having sat through nearly seven hours of testimony and evidence presentation, it has become evident to me that our board has stood in the shadows while allowing their chosen superintendent to bear the entire load of managing the school system in this time of turbulence. Now, don’t get me wrong, I understand the position of superintendent is the guiding force in the management of the county schools and students. But I also know that as a board member in any organization it is your responsibility to support YOUR choice of leadership to perform that job.

When you remain in the shadows and are unheard and unseen, it shows weakness and the inability to support your representative in a time when difficult decisions need to be made. This is one of those times and will long be remembered in the history of the county, WERE YOU THERE?

The clear evidence tells us that the time to take action to protect the students of Paden City has come and gone. Past boards, superintendents and city officials clearly understood the school sat on a hazardous designated site. As far back as 2013, when the #2 well was shut down for clear evidence of contamination from the dry-cleaner site, quick and conclusive actions should have been undertaken to try and mitigate the site. Questions from not only the board, but leaders in the community should have been asked. Hiding from hard truths solves nothing. They could have found ways to pump the ground water into a treatment site. Perhaps at that point the movement of the contaminant could have been slowed in its travels towards the high school. Actions could have been taken and the school could have been studied and ways found to prevent the coming vapor intrusions.

The problem of contaminants has been in recent years scrutinized and studied on many occasions. Tests were run and results studied from every viewpoint possible. And, from those tests in February, we now understand that more chemicals are in play inside the high school. The ball was dropped, not just in recent days but decades ago.

There are those of you who very much dislike Superintendent Porter’s recent decision to close the school (temporarily). You believe once it is closed, it is unlikely it will ever reopen to children. I too believe that is the future fate of the Home of The Wildcats.

Instead of the board standing in the shadow, they should be standing shoulder to shoulder with Superintendent Porter. Past boards should have realized the possibility of future problems under the ground. PCE is an environmental cancer that is not only slowly destroying the water and ground, but the lives of hundreds if not thousands of future children.

I began my crusade a few years back trying to get the board to look towards the future and build a new consolidated school. Would that school have housed all the schools in the county, maybe, maybe not. My goal was to start us down the path towards understanding what was possible to give all the children in the county the very best education possible. Somewhere along the line I used the words merger in a story. Look in the dictionary and the word merger and consolidation are interchangeable. But, once that word entered the conversation it meant only one thing to certain people, merge Paden City into Magnolia and strip them of their colors, mascot and history and pride. That was the farthest thing from my mind. CONSOLIDATION is meant to bring together into one building when it is completed. It would bring a new name, New Colors, Mascot and a new future not yet written.

Early last year before Mrs. Porter took over the schools, the then sitting board received a list of items that needed to be answered before any progress could be made toward a new school. Now, for some reason that procedure required two motions from the board to be approved. First the board had to agree for the superintendent to take on that task. After passing that motion they would allow her to do a discovery of information and then present it to the board for them to decide the action needed to move towards consolidation. For some unknown reason the board railed at assigning the superintendent the task and unanimously said, NO. Then in another motion they voted unanimously YES to allow her to do the research and present it at a future meeting. It didn’t make a lot of sense to me, but still the superintendent was going to gather the information.

During that interim time Mrs. Porter came on board. She took on the task of researching student population, future growth, teacher needs and all the things needed for the board to give consideration to future consolidation.

In September of last year Mrs. Porter had prepared the information requested by the previous board. But then something happened that changed everything. An item was placed on the agenda, merging Paden City High school and Magnolia. WHERE DID THAT COME FROM? I think Suddenly gasoline was thrown on the fire and everything after that was lost in the blaze. What of the facts for a future consolidation…ASHES.

To this day I have not found out why that agenda was set up that way. Destroying any future plans for consolidation? I don’t know. But I do know we have spent many months talking about no merger and contaminated soils with no progress to the future. That is a lack of leadership and direction. Mrs. Porter cannot make those things happen without the board looking to the future. She did however take the only action open to her, do what is in the best interest of the children, a safe place to study and a first-class education.

Judge Wilson has said he will render a decision by August 1. Will that settle the issue, I don’t think so. But at least he and Mrs. Porter have made decisions for the future of the county’s schools. That is their job and they are not hiding in the shadows or Missing in Action as I see it Through the Lens. One last thing. In all the hearings, meetings and arguments on both sides. There has been one other thing Missing in Action, A call to improve the education of the county’s students.