Published: May 11, 2008 02:29 am            

Bond can make dreams come true

‘Yes’ vote would lead to new East Fairmont Middle, numerous improvements

FAIRMONT — Teachers countywide have a dream.

Dick Werry, principal at Fairview Elementary, dreams of the day he won’t have to put his students on a bus that takes them to Fairview Middle School to have gym class.

Mary Weikle, physical education teacher at East Dale Elementary, dreams of the day when she won’t have to hold class in the school’s hallways.

Judd Ashcraft, principal at North Marion High, dreams of a gymnasium that will seat 3,500 people, so every parent and grandparent can see their child graduate from high school instead of being turned away because the gym is too small to hold them.

Vic Seccuro, physical education teacher at Blackshere Elementary, dreams of the day he doesn’t have to yell at his students just so they can hear his instructions because students are eating lunch a few feet away.

Kathe Jacquez, chair of the science department at Fairmont Senior High, dreams of a day when she won’t have to worry about chemicals freezing in her lab because there will be adequate heat in the room.

Christine Miller, principal at East Fairmont Junior High, dreams of a day her school will have one entrance and exit, natural light, and adequate technology to teach the students what they’ll need to know in an undefined job market.

All these problems — and many others — can be solved if the school bond is passed Tuesday.

In just two days, Marion County voters will go to the polls to decide whether to improve the county’s schools.

Basically, voters will cast their ballots to approve or deny a $41.5 million bond, but the decision is much more complex than a simple “yes” or “no.”

The bond is part of a $61.7 million plan to improve 13 of the 19 schools in Marion County. The plan would make sweeping renovations at all three high schools a reality. The plan would also build nine free-standing gymnasiums at elementary schools.

The centerpiece project is a new middle school, East Fairmont Middle School.

A resounding “yes” vote means Marion County would get to keep a $20.2 million grant from the state School Building Authority. That money would go straight to building the new EFMS.

The bond and the SBA grant are contingent upon one another, so if the bond isn’t approved, the grant will go back to the SBA and another county will receive that money.

Mark Manchin, executive director of the SBA, attended an informational session on the bond Thursday at the county’s newest school, West Fairmont Middle.

There, Manchin said Marion County’s grant application was given the highest rating by the SBA staff and ultimately was approved first.

“Marion County was far and away the best project,” Manchin said. “It was the first project recommended to the board for funding and the first project funded. Marion County got the highest rating.”

Mark Manchin isn’t the only state official giving his stamp of approval to the bond.

Farmington native Gov. Joe Manchin attended the meeting as well Thursday and said he had voted in favor of the measure earlier that afternoon.

The bond includes millions of dollars for the North Marion attendance area. The $10 million set aside for North Marion High would pay for many renovations, including a new commons area and a state-of-the-art gymnasium that would seat 3,500 people. That gym is desperately needed, Gov. Manchin said.

The meeting Thursday was the last in a series of informational sessions conducted by the committee in support of the bond, which is chaired by Dixie Yann.

In addition to dozens of meetings held at local civic and community groups, the committee held 15 meetings at schools that will be affected if the bond passes.

At Thursday’s meeting, the community was treated to a special technology presentation from staff and students at WFMS. Teachers Jackie Constable and Missy DeWitt created a short movie, showcasing what they and other teachers are able to do with proper technology in the building.

Since the building opened just over a year ago, the students have created more than 7,000 Web log (blog) entries; more than 2,000 wiki posts; 1,700 online essays; nearly 200 podcasts; more than 1,100 published documents; 2,400 spreadsheets and graphs; more than 2,200 Microsoft PowerPoint documents and 530 cartoons or movies. WFMS and Fairmont Senior High have the first distance learning class in the county, French I.

The school has also won numerous awards, all because of technology.

The film ended with the question: “Don’t you think all students in Marion County deserve the same?”

E-mail Katie Wilson at kwilson@timeswv.com.

        

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