29-03-2025
Teachers stuck in limbo after Randolph County RIF hearings
ELKINS, (WBOY) — Transfers, terminations and consolidations are all under consideration in Randolph County after Reduction in Force (RIF) hearings wrapped up Thursday night. For now, dozens of school employees still don't know their fate, and the waiting may be the hardest part.
Even as they awaited the results of their hearings, Randolph County teachers continued to grade their students' assignments Thursday night as they sat in the auditorium at Elkins High School.
'Even if this transfer goes through, I will not accept it because third ward is where I belong. I moved here from Virginia with no blood relatives, and I took a pay decrease to go here, but this is where I wanted to go,' First-grade teacher Tina Wulin said.
Superintendent Shawn Dilly told 12 News that the long wait between now and the vote stems from a need for the board to know for certain what kind of state and federal grant funding it will receive before having to go through with terminations or transfers, and possibly having to rescind those choices if funding comes at a later date.
If funding comes before the proposed April 22 meeting, the board will vote earlier. However, even if funding comes through and the budget is balanced—with help from this year's carryover funds, which cannot be calculated until the end of the year—Dilly said that this can only be done this year, and it's not financially sustainable for the county.
However, employees like Wulin will have to wait longer to know where they stand, as the board announced late Thursday night that it would postpone its vote on the proposed terminations and transfers until as late as April 22, about a week before the deadline the county has to submit all final personnel information.
West Virginia bill would allow state to consolidate county school districts
Dilly said that consolidation, an issue which seemed to be put to bed in January, is back on the table, with talks to take place as early as May.
'But, I really think it's important that we start having that discussion because Randolph County cannot survive without consolidation in its future,' Dilly said.
Harman and Pickens schools, which were just spared the fate of consolidation, could be facing it again, in addition to one or two other schools. If the county takes that route, the consolidations would go into effect in the 2026-2027 school year.
And it's not just adults being affected by these plans. On Friday, 12 News received a press release from the Elkins High School Student Government Association and the Tygarts Valley High School Key Club, with students petitioning for their voices to be heard as the board makes its decisions.
'As student representatives for our schools, we insist on a Town Hall meeting in Randolph County in April after the West Virginia legislature session and during the U.S Congress recess. This meeting would provide the opportunity for our students and community to engage with you about the impacts of funding on our schools and other community services like Social Security, Medicare, veterans programs, USDA initiatives, and other federal and state programs that are essential to our county,' the release said.
The release said that the students want to 'foster a positive civil engagement' through the town hall to ensure that the community is informed and its voice is heard.
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