The first meeting of our “First Friday Focus on Education” group at Kump Education Center was well attended by 15 of people who really care about education. We had parents, grandparents, teachers and college education professors. At the end of the meeting, the group wanted to create a representative citizens council from local schools to collaborate with the leadership in the county office.

Many topics were discussed, but the one problem that stands out most is that we need better communication to help citizens understand what is happening in the schools and why. People from Harman believe that there is a misconception that closing Harman School would have saved 32 professional positions in other Randolph County schools. Everyone wondered how students can recover the learning lost during snow days this winter. Do students really need a Spring Break?

We had more questions than answers about scheduling. If attendance is important, then students need to get in the habit of going to school five days a week. Why do our children have so many days and half days out of school for teacher meetings in the middle of the week? How can single working moms provide care for their children with the extra days and half days off? Citizens may go on the RCS website to express opinions about the 2025-2026 school year schedule this month.

If Randolph County ranks 54th of 55 counties in this state, and West Virginia has one of the poorest performing school systems in the country, what can our community do about academic issues? Could we get businesses and politicians involved in getting more funding for public education? If both public and private funding could be directed toward improving the public schools in Randolph County, we might make a real difference by working together in our local communities.

Could we create good public charter schools? Could students in our county go to schools in other counties? How can we be sure that schools will be able to continue Special Education and Title I programs if federal funds are cut for the US Department of Education? What assessments will show that our students are learning what they need to know to compete with people in other states? How can local citizens work together to pass a school levy?

We need to express our concerns to newly elected state leaders. Last weekend in the Gazette-Mail Governor Morrisey seriously questioned Jim Justice’s wildly expensive “Hope Scholarship.” At the local Chamber Legislative Luncheon, our two Senators Hamilton and Morris expressed doubt about “School Choice” in our section of the state. There is a good deal of confusion about the West Virginia student funding formula. It does not seem to work for our large rural county with a sparse population. The goal of consolidating schools does not provide the solutions we need when we do not have enough bus drivers to move our students who ride buses now. Under the US Constitution education is a state responsibility, and West Virginia has work to be done in Randolph County.