photo by: Joselyn King

Ohio County Board of Education members Anne Hercules, left, and Molly Aderholt consider what approach to take regarding religious exemptions for required vaccinations for school children.

WHEELING — Ohio County Board of Education members Monday night unanimously directed Superintendent Kim Miller to seek legal counsel’s opinion regarding the granting of religious exemptions to required vaccinations for school children.

The West Virginia Legislature failed to pass legislation providing for religious and philosophical exemptions to school vaccinations during their recent regular session.

However, Gov. Patrick Morrisey after taking office in January issued an executive order permitting the exemptions.

He announced Friday that order “still stands,” and he has “no intention of rescinding it.”

The State Bureau of Public Health has informed school districts that they are to respond with a letter to requests for exemptions that the district will not enforce the vaccination mandate for those with religious and philosophical objections.

Miller told the board the school district is educating about 5,000 students and has 800 employees. She asked board members to weigh in on how the school district should handle requests for vaccine exemptions.

Bernie Albertini said he was “100% supportive” of medical exemptions to vaccinations.

“Otherwise, I think it is incumbent on us that we protect the students, and that we should mandate the vaccines,” he said.

Anne Hercules agreed.

“People are forgetting the black plague, polio — all the diseases that are out there,” she said. “People aren’t living it, so they aren’t realizing it.

“We need to continue keeping it at bay through vaccines. I would just hate to see that go away. And how do they prove that is their reasoning for not getting vaccinated? What process would they have to go through to show they don’t believe or need the vaccine.”

Molly Aderholt, the first of two attorneys on the board, noted the board’s first obligation in the matter is to look at legal concerns.

“As a board, we should run that down and seek opinion from legal counsel regarding the governor’s executive order versus state statute,” she said. “As a school board, we just need to do what the law requires us to do.”

Board President David Croft, also an attorney, additionally pushed for an outside legal opinion.

“We may have some varying opinions on vaccines, but that is not the question before us,” he said. “What is before is (Morrisey’s executive order) that essentially creates religious exemptions (to the law). They are tying the freedom of religion to what is deemed a right to public education, and this is not as easy an analysis as you might think. This has multiple tentacles to it.

“As a board, what we owe the community is an informed decision — which we don’t have in front of us.”

He said Miller already consulted with the school district’s regular legal counsel, who told her they would feel more comfortable referring the matter to attorneys more familiar in that area.

Croft added that new legal counsel should be able to put together a memorandum for the board to consider prior to their next meeting, which is set for 6 p.m. on May 27.

“I have my idea of what we think we will get back, but we probably won’t know until counsel renders an opinion.”

Board member Andy Garber was not present at the meeting, and Albertini participated by phone.

During the meeting, the board also considered a host of personnel matters, with two veteran employees set to retire.

They approved the retirement of Ritchie Elementary School Principal John Jorden effective June 30. Jorden has worked in Ohio County Schools for 40 years.

Also retiring is long-time Wheeling Park High School secretary Dorothy “Dottie” Boyd. She has been employed with the school district for 37.5 years.