Marion County Schools veteran Kim Middlemas running for board of education
May 11—FAIRMONT — Kim Middlemas spent much of her adult life in service to the county's children as both a teacher and principal in Marion County Schools.
Now, she wants to lead as a member of the Board of Education. If she receives the opportunity to serve on the school board, Middlemas wants to leave the county's schools in a position of excellence.
"I would hope that I have helped lead Marion County be a county that people recognize as one of the Top 5 counties in West Virginia," she said. "That's what I would like to do. I would like to make the kind of impact where people look up to us and want to model Marion County."
There are 5 members of the Board of Education and there are 3 districts in Marion County — Palatine, Middletown and West Augusta. No single district can have more than 2 members sitting on the board at one time. It was designed to ensure one district did not have a majority of the board seats. Donna Costello (West Augusta), Tom Dragich (Middletown) and George Boyles (Palatine) are not up for election.
Middlemas spent 15 years as principal of Pleasant Valley Elementary, where she personally led the school to become the fourth highest test scoring school in the state, she said.
Middlemas described the most pressing issue facing county schools is teacher retention. She wants to find ways to have the county compete with Harrison County salary-wise. Addressing this is part of a larger systemic issue, one that is tied to demographics of Marion County. The state as a whole is working on new ways to encourage its youth to remain and work in its industries, flight to other states and cities for opportunity has been a longstanding problem.
That issue is an important one to address because school funding is tied to enrollment numbers. If families take their children out of state and young people don't choose to settle here and have children, enrollment will continue to decline. The school system's funding is determined by a state algorithm that looks at enrollment as one of its factors. As a whole enrollment continues to decline in Marion County Schools.
"I can see if there's some incentives, I don't know all about the monies," she said. "And you heard me say at the forum how important it is to know exactly how much money there is to spend. But even if we could give teachers some incentives to start teaching in Marion County, with them agreeing to stay on for four or five years."
Middlemas admitted to now know many of the intricacies of how state funding for public education works. However, if elected she is committed to keep learning.
However, there is one area Middlemas knows is impacting school funding in a negative way — homeschooling, charter and HOPE scholarships.
"We lose that money if a child is homeschooled or is on the Hope Scholarship," she said. "Public school loses that money. I don't agree. I don't agree with taking money from the county. I don't agree with taking money from the county so a student can be homeschooled or go to a private school."
Ultimately, Middlemas thinks economic growth is tied to school enrollment. The challenge for the former is ensuring young people can find employment opportunities in the area. However, finding ways the school board can work with the rest of the county's political and economic entities to improve economic opportunities while remaining in its lane is difficult.
"Personally, I think it's bigger than just getting students sent to schools," she said. "It's getting young people to want to live in Marion County."
Middlemas also supports building new schools for the county's children.
When it comes to students, Middlemas is a strong believer in the work special education aides do to address behavioral problems in school. Although Middlemas thinks students need to be able to use technology. She said there is no substitute for a one-on-one relationship with a teacher, especially when it comes to math education. Math becomes more difficult in middle school, she said. The same goes with English language arts and social studies. Discussion and conversation are important components of teaching those subjects. She also supports the arts.
"I think the arts are so important," she said. "That is where a lot of students find themselves. I would hate to see any fine arts cut, music, band, anything like that. I think that's so important for students, to give them a focus and give them something to think about outside of school."
Middlemas also wants to see more community involvement in the Local School Improvement Councils. These councils are required by state code and exist at each public school in West Virginia. Membership consists of teachers, service personnel, families, business and community representatives. Members are elected to the councils. It's important for the community to be at meetings so they can see what goes on at their schools.
Middlemas is an avid reader, reading everything from leadership tomes to fiction and nonfiction. She is no stranger to genre fiction, such as fantasy works. Exploring different types of fiction allows her to explore other aspects of herself and consider who she is outside of the rigors of her day to day life.
"I just enjoy kind of like removing myself," she said. "That's what it does, it just removes yourself for a while and puts you in a different place. It lets you enjoy a different type of life, a different type of thought."
Reach Esteban at efernandez@timeswv.com
