|Photo by Emma Delk| Marshall County Schools Facilities Director Michael Price gives board members a construction update during Tuesday night's meeting.

The Marshall County Board of Education unanimously approved a $399,514 payment to Casto Technical Services to perform control upgrades of Cameron High School’s HVAC system during Tuesday night’s meeting.

Marshall County Schools Facilities Director Michael Price says the control system upgrade comes at the “perfect time” since it coincides with replacing the high school’s chiller.

“The controls are pretty much antiquated now and need to be replaced,” Price informed board members on Tuesday.

Upgrades to the control system were initially set to be performed by Honeywell, but Price said the company did not fulfill its services to the school.

“What was kind of annoying to me is that, back in the day, I had issues with them [Honeywell] that they did not take care of,” Price said. “They have a lack of service that was annoying to me.”

Price added Cameron High School officials would have “control back” over the scheduling of the school’s programming with the new system installed.

“This was the right time because we’re doing the chiller upgrades, so I think we’re all going to be pleased once it’s completed,” Price said. “We should run smoothly here real soon.”

Price updated board members on Tuesday on other construction projects at Marshall County schools. He noted that the John Marshall High School Outdoor Classroom was in the “concrete stage,” with work commencing on sidewalks and parking areas.

Price said the outdoor classroom area is “95% completed.” However, a slight hiccup occurred during the construction when one of the shade canopies arrived ripped. Price ordered a new canopy, which should arrive “next week.”

“The classroom is turning out really nice,” said Price. “If you haven’t been there, either take a walk or drive by and get a look at it.”

According to Price, a grand opening for the outdoor classroom is in the works. The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the project will coincide with the grand opening of Central Elementary School’s playground and outdoor classroom.

During Tuesday night’s meeting, the board also unanimously approved a revision to the 2025 budget to allocate $15,000 to the Communities In Schools Program. The revision will continue to fund the placement of a social worker at Washington Lands Elementary School, Moundsville Middle School and John Marshall High School.

Superintendent Shelby Haines noted the three social workers keep a database of students’ “attendance and discipline” that follows them from elementary school to middle school to high school.

“Those three social workers do a lot in the buildings, but they specifically focus on student attendance and providing service for families,” Haines said. “While they sometimes provide direct services, they also work on assisting families in getting service themselves. They attend many community events and have a caseload of students that they monitor to increase their attendance.”

Haines said the funding would keep the program running, noting the program was initially paid for “100%” by the West Virginia State Department.

“As the years progress, the amount that the State Department gives us for those three positions begins to reduce, and we begin picking up some of that cost,” Haines said. “We’re shifting from this pot to this pot to pay that bill.”

Board president John Miller noted the program’s importance, adding, “No matter how good the instruction is, students are not going to benefit if they’re not there.”