MOUNDSVILLE — Marshall County Schools employees would be able to trade in up to five accrued vacation days for a stipend according to a proposed policy making its way through the pipeline.

Marshall County Board of Education members unanimously approved the first reading of policies at their most recent meeting. Those policies specify the attendance stipend that service personnel and professional employees, respectively, can receive by trading in their accrued vacation days.

Superintendent Shelby Haines outlined that the policy allows a MCS employee with at least 45 vacation days to request a stipend for up to five of those vacation days during the first two weeks of April. The cashout request would be approved by April 20, and the first payout would be in May.

“This vacation day policy is for employees that do not take those accrued vacation days off but then can’t really turn them in for anything,” Haines said. “If you don’t use those days, you’re essentially going to lose them, so this allows employees to cash out up to five days.”

Employees must have at least 40 vacation days left after cashing out their vacation days, as MCS’s policy for outgoing MCS employees allows them to cash out 40 vacation days.

“This just gives employees a little bit of an added incentive to save those vacation days and come to work and then cash out those days later,” Haines said. “For example, a custodian who works in the summertime could continue to work to cash out those five vacation days instead of taking them when it’s hard to get a substitute.”

Board members also signed a letter of opposition to American Electric Power and Wheeling Power Company’s proposed rate increase submitted to the West Virginia Public Service Commission. The proposal seeks to raise electric rates and charges by approximately $250.5 million annually, representing a 14.6% increase.

West Virginia School Board Association Executive Director Jim Brown worked with school board members to draft a letter detailing how the increase would be a significant hardship for businesses and people.

Board members also reviewed the 2025-26 Medical Benefit Card for MCS employees. Haines said the school board was offering the card to “help offset costs of ever-rising insurance,” as a 14% increase in West Virginia Public Employees Insurance Agency premiums for state employees will go into effect in July, and another 11% increase is set to go into place next year.

The four categories of coverage for the medical benefit card are as follows: A single person who makes under $60,400 will receive $1,000, a single person who makes over $60,400 will receive $1,500, an employee with a spouse and/or children who makes under $60,400 will receive $1,500 and an employee with a spouse and/or children who makes over $60,400 will receive $2,000.

Board members also reviewed the 2025-26 Attendance Stipend for MCS service personnel and professional employees. The board unanimously approved raising this year’s fall attendance stipend from $2,000 for 18 hours worked at the beginning of the school year to $2,500 for 20 hours worked at the beginning of the school year.

Haines said about 300 MCS employees currently receive the attendance stipend, and they project that another 50 employees will receive it this year.

“Teachers put in a lot of hours getting their classrooms ready, and aides have bus trainings before the school year starts,” Haines said. “Many employees put more than 20 hours into getting their classrooms ready, and there are a lot of policy trainings employees must attend, so we increased the stipend.”