RESOURCE OFFICERS DISCUSSED — Brooke County Commissioners announced they will hold a special meeting at 10 a.m. Friday to consider a pending agreement over financing of resource officers in Brooke County Schools. County Commissioner A.J. Thomas and other county officials met with school officials for a few hours Tuesday to discuss terms for the agreement, which must be approved by the Brooke County Board of Education on Monday. -- Warren Scott

WELLSBURG — After meeting for a few hours on Tuesday afternoon, Brooke County officials and leaders of the local school district appeared hopeful that an agreement can be reached soon on the financing of prevention resource officers for local schools.

Superintendent of Schools Jeffrey Crook described the meeting as “positive and very productive” and expected a proposed agreement to come before the school board at its next regular meeting at 6 p.m. Monday.

The meeting will be held at the board’s office at 1201 Pleasant Ave.

A.J. Thomas, president of the Brooke County Commission, said he also was “optimistic” that a resolution will be reached, adding legal language that had concerned officials on both sides appeared to have been addressed.

At their regular meeting Tuesday morning, commissioners called for a special meeting at 10 a.m. Friday in the event a deal could be struck.

Both Thomas and Crook said all of the details hadn’t been put into writing.

Crook earlier suggested the school district could contribute about 67.5 percent of the salaries for each of three sheriff’s deputies to be assigned to Brooke County schools.

In years past, sheriff’s deputies and other local police serving as school resource officers received training in handling various emergencies, such as the presence of an active shooter, and often spoke to students about issues involving law enforcement.

They also have been credited with investigating allegations of abuse and other crimes as a result of their presence in schools.

The officers were to be funded through the school district’s five-year operating levy, but financial constraints led school officials to ask the commission to provide funds for them.

The commissioners said they couldn’t afford to do that, and the officers were let go. The school board instead hired a former sheriff’s deputy and resource officer to serve at Brooke High School and oversee a Wellsburg officer serving at Brooke Middle School, through an agreement with that city, and security guards hired for other schools.

The resource officers were covered for several years by state grants but as those became more difficult to obtain, the school district provided funds.

Last week, resident Beverly Sizemore suggested the county apply for a federal Justice Assistance Grant, noting Ohio County recently was awarded one for $50,000.

On Tuesday, Brooke County Prosecuting Attorney Joseph Barki said the deadline for that grant has passed and the county wasn’t eligible because it didn’t currently have officers in schools.

County Coordinator Adrienne Ward said she plans next year to pursue that grant while also applying for a grant from the West Virginia Division of Administrative Services’ Justice and Community Services section.

The commission authorized Ward to submit a letter of interest required for the grant which, if approved, would be awarded next year.

Ward said the grant requires a 25 percent match from the applicant, but she’s not determined how much may be available. She said the grant also may require the officers to already be placed in schools.

In other business, the commission announced representatives of the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy will present a public form on Amendment 2 at 5 p.m. Sept. 28 in the main courtroom of the Brooke County Courthouse.

If approved by voters in the Nov. 8 general election, the amendment to the state constitution would allow the state legislature to eliminate the property tax on machinery and equipment directly used by businesses and on motor vehicles owned by businesses and residents.

State legislators supporting the amendment have said cutting the state’s inventory tax on machinery and equipment would attract new businesses to West Virginia.

But the Brooke County Commissioners and other county officials in the state have said the legislators haven’t established a clear plan of how those taxes will be made up at the county level.

They noted levies supporting the county’s fire departments, ambulance service, emergency 911 center and other county agencies depend on such property tax.

Levies for local school districts also are fueled by the taxes.

Thomas said even if the legislators find a way to make up for the lost revenue, it appears it would involve state officials controlling funding for such local services.

“It doesn’t seem fair for one level of government to extend such control over another one,” he said.

The County Commissioners Association of West Virginia and West Virginia Association of Counties, a statewide group made up of other elected county officials, have issued a joint statement opposing the proposed amendment, saying it will result in a loss of about $550 million in revenue for counties throughout the state.

The commission also:

— Approved a $24,655 agreement with Election Systems and Software for the maintenance and limited replacement parts for the county’s election equipment.

— Set Halloween trick or treating hours at 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Oct. 31 for unincorporated areas of the county. The commissioners added staff with the Brooke County Sheriff’s Department will be available during those hours to scan collected candies with the courthouse’s walk-through metal detector.