The Brooke County Board of Education on Monday announced it has secured $100,000 for the planning and design of a new middle school.

Board President James Piccirillo made the announcement after meeting with the state School Building Authority in Charleston on Monday.

He said the state board approved more than $43 million for new school buildings around the state but also rejected several, presumably because of limited funding.

“The importance of this funding is it indicates the SBA is showing support for our proposal, which is a very positive sign,” Piccirillo said.

He praised Superintendent Kathy Kidder-Wilkerson, Assistant Superintendent Marty Bartz and Brian Ferguson, the board’s vice president, who presented to the state board the proposal for the new middle school.

Plans call for the middle school to be built near Brooke High School and replace Follansbee and Wellsburg middle schools, which school officials say have become costly to maintain.

The board is considering the grassy parking area used by students and for parking during football games. Its cost has been estimated at about $30 million, and the board will seek additional state funds and passage of a local bond issue to finance the project.

The $100,000 grant will be used to employ a bond counsel and financial advisor for the project and other expenses involved in planning it.

The consolidation of the two middle schools is part of the 10-year comprehensive educational facilities plan adopted by the board in 2010 at the recommendation of a committee of school employees and community members working with McKinley and Associates, a Wheeling engineering firm.

In other business, the board recognized Michelle Woodstuff, a senior Brooke High School Latin II student who placed third in the sight translation division of the Marshall University High School Latin Cup Awards competition.

The daughter of Michael and Deborah Woodstuff, she received a $150 cash prize for her efforts.

The competition tests the knowledge of outstanding high school Latin students from throughout the state.

Ede Ashworth, Woodstuff’s teacher, noted the event was established by William J. Maier Jr., a Clarksburg native who credited the English and Latin courses he took in high school for enabling him to gain admission to Harvard University, where he ultimately earned a law degree.

The board also recognized winners of the school bus safety poster contest held by the school district’s transportation department. The contest is held each year to stress various rules of safety to pupils and the general public.

School bus drivers judged the entries, and prizes were awarded through the support of Dr. Patsy Cipoletti, NAPA Auto Parts and Hone and Sons Trucking. Cash prizes of $25, $15 and $10 were presented to those who placed first, second and third, respectively, and bus-shaped lunch bags were given to all of the recipients.