ELKINS – Randolph County students have been in their classrooms for 70 days so far this school year – and 70 days is how long some elementary school teachers have been working without aids such as teacher’s edition books, flash cards and CDs.

This lack of needed materials was addressed by some teachers and administrators this week during LSIC programs before the Randolph County Board of Education.

Board members let it be known they were unhappy with the situation, and felt that still not receiving the materials by 70 days into the school year – which represents 78 percent of the first semester and 39 percent of the entire year – was simply unacceptable.

Rochelle Chenoweth, principal at Jennings Randolph Elementary School, said the teachers at her school are still waiting on materials associated with the new adopted books for English Language Arts.

BOE member Harvey Taylor asked Chenoweth, “You have not received all of your materials?”

“We don’t have the leveled readers and that is one thing the teachers are really waiting for,” she said. “The third, fourth and fifth grade does not have the teacher manuals. We do not have the intervention kits for our special education and we are missing a lot of materials. But I will say, every day there is a box or two coming in… We keep a list of what has not come in and I can let you know what we are still waiting on.”

Chenoweth said some resources are online, but noted there has been trouble with teachers being able to print and use those resources.

“There are some streaming issues and sometimes the chapters do not match up with our materials,” she said.

A teacher spoke up and said she was making her own vocabulary cards at home to use in her classroom.

“For each story, I am making vocabulary cards,” she said. “Of course, that is using my ink and paper.”

“Ma’am, can I ask you a question?” Taylor said. “You said you are using your own ink and paper to print this stuff off? Bring me a bill. We paid $500,000 for these books in May. In May. Here it is the second semester and we haven’t got all of our books. I want the bill. Please.”

The crowd applauded Taylor’s comments.

“I want the bill because we haven’t paid for all of these books yet and I am going to deduct it,” Taylor said. “I want you to understand something this is not the superintendent’s fault. She has been calling about this stuff. This has been going on too long. We were first approached about this at (the) Tygarts Valley LSIC. I am teed to the tilt because we paid $500,000 and ordered these in May.”

The issue also surfaced earlier this week, during Tuesday’s BOE meeting, when Hewitt noted some of the books had not been received.

“All of our student books are in,” Hewitt said. “We are still waiting on a few teachers’ editions for the reading series and a few, possibly free-with-purchase items. As far as the student books, to the best of my knowledge, they are all in.”

The books were published by Pearson, but Randolph County Schools ordered them through James & Law Company. Since 1912, James & Law has been the official depository for textbooks and instructional materials in West Virginia. The company currently acts as agents for more than 50 publishers.

Taylor asked if the bill had been paid in full.

“I don’t know that they are paid in full,” Brad Smith, Randolph County finance director, said. “As Pam said, we have the textbooks it’s just the extras they are compensating us for.”

BOE member Donna Auvil asked if the teachers’ editions had been received.

“The teachers’ editions come free with the adoption of the program,” Hewitt said. “We have had our student books, we just don’t have the workbooks and a few of the components that come along with them.”

Auvil said she thought the situation was inexcusable.

“The year is almost half over,” Auvil said. “There is just no excuse for that.”

Hewitt said some of the books had been received and the schools have had them for quite a while.

“We should have had them before school started,” Auvil said.

“We should have because we ordered them in May,” Hewitt said. “We tried to get a head start on those.

“I spoke with the representative because science is up this year. She said if anyone chooses to go with that company next year, all ordering and tracking will be electronic. I will go in and put in what I want and can go in and see the status, so it takes the representative out of the sequence.”

Hewitt said she has never had a textbook adoption like this in all of the years she has worked in the Randolph County school system.

Auvil said she had never experienced such a delay.

“I think the state superintendent should go in and black ball that company,” Auvil said. “There is no excuse.”

“It’s Pearson,” Hewitt said. “It’s one of the top companies.”

“I am sure they are, but I know the first nine weeks, basically, they didn’t have anything,” Auvil said.

BOE member Bruce Haddix said officials should make sure not to select Pearson next year.

Auvil asked how much the books cost and Taylor said they totaled $500,000.

On Thursday, Smith showed The Inter-Mountain the payments and receipts for the textbooks. The actual cost for the books was approximately $360,000. Smith said books are paid for when they are received, and to date, approximately $290,000 has been paid for the textbooks. He said a large portion of the unpaid amount is for books for classes being offered in the second semester in higher grades.

During Tuesday’s meeting, Hewitt said the problem of receiving school books was not just a Randolph County issue.

“They know it – it’s not just our county, it is everywhere,” Hewitt said.

Officials in other local school systems contacted by The Inter-Mountain said they had not experienced such difficulties, however.

Jeff Kittle, assistant superintendent of Barbour County Schools, said his county had no issues this year receiving books. Kittle said the school system ordered their books through James and Law.

“The textbooks came in pretty quick, but there was a few delays with the supplements that came with the adoption,” Kittle said. “We received everything by the first week of school. School starts much earlier now and it was an undertaking by James and Law to get everything delivered.”

Alicia Lambert, principal at Davis Thomas Elementary Middle School in Tucker County, said her school ordered books in the beginning of July.

“We sent our orders to the Tucker County Board Office and they sent our order to James and Law,” Lambert said. “We received our books before the start of school. We had no issues.”

After Wednesday’s LSIC meeting, Rich Carr, Assistant Superintendent of Randolph County Schools said Hewitt has been in contact with the company the books were ordered from.

“We will again contact them and see what is going on with the manipulatives we do not have and some of the books we are lacking,” Carr said.

On Thursday, Hewitt said the adoption of the new English language arts materials was selected by a committee in spring.

“The board approved the selections made by the committee and the orders were placed in May using carry-over funds,” Hewitt said. “We had enough to order books and materials for K through 4th grade. We ordered the rest when we received funding July 1.”

Hewitt said she thought the order went smoothly.

“Pearson did the presentation and the representatives did a good job providing training everything was going smooth as silk,” Hewitt said. “The books were ordered through James and Law, and we were concerned when we did not have the books as the beginning of school was approaching.”

Hewitt said she began calling the publisher.

“They assured me the books were on their way. All the student textbooks have been received. What we are waiting on are the extras such as the vocabulary cards.”

She said she has sent out an email to each of the principals requesting they make a list of each teacher in the school and all the items that have not been received, and she will then contact the representative and find out where the rest of the materials are.

“This has been a very difficult adoption, and it started out smooth in the beginning,” Hewitt said. “These delays make it hard for the teachers and it is unfortunate it has been this way. But we are working on this. We have been working on this and we will continue to until we receive all of our materials.”

Hewitt said even without the materials, teachers have enough to deliver a successful English language arts program.

“Learning has never stopped and time was not wasted. Our desire was to have the books on the first day of class but it did not work that way,” she said.

Hewitt noted Randolph teachers have given the new English Language Arts program high marks.

“That is the good side they did like it once we got it,” Hewitt said.