Brooke Teacher, Service Personnel member of the Year named

WELLSBURG -- On Monday, the Brooke County Board of Education recognized two staff members for the outstanding roles they play in the school district.

Marla Hileman, who teaches fourth graders at Brooke Intermediate North, was honored at Brooke County's Teacher of the Year while Rebecca Harlan was recognized as the school district's Service Personnel Member of the Year.

Superintendent Jeff Crook noted Hileman taught at a handful of Brooke County schools before beginning a 13-year stint (to date) at Brooke Intermediate North (the former Jefferson Primary School).

A graduate of Brooke High School and West Liberty University, Hileman was asked which of the various subjects covered in her classroom she enjoys most.

She said her favorite is math, though that wasn't her favorite as a student.

Hileman said perhaps for that reason, she works a little harder at spurring her students' interest in working with numbers.

"We do a lot of hands-on and group work," she said.

Hileman counts among her professional influences, Linda Barker, who had been her own fourth-grade teacher, while noting there are a number of teachers in her family.

Crook said he's observed Hileman in her classroom and has been impressed.

"It's phenomenal how she interacts with her kids, the relationships she's built with them," he said.

Asked what she likes most about teaching, Hileman said, "What I really enjoy most is the kids. They motivate me to be better at it."

She added she's grateful for the support from fellow staff members at her school.

Both the Teacher of the Year and Service Personnel Member of the Year honors are determined through nominations from the staffs at each Brooke County school.

In introducing Harlan, Crook noted she's received "stellar evaluations" since coming to work for the school district 11 years ago.

Employed initially as secretary for the Center 1 office, in more recent years she has served as financial secretary in the main office, a position that involves financial records for the school's academic programs and all extracurricular activities not involving sports.

Harlan had worked previously as part-time office manager for the Brooke County Solid Waste Authority, which involved securing grants for the board's recycling operations and delivering talks on recycling at local schools.

Asked what she enjoys most about her current job, she said, "Just helping people."

In other business, the school board approved the hiring of two school resource officers for the next school year.

One was Dan Casto, whose 26-year career in law enforcement has included service to several area police departments and stints as Beech Bottom police chief and Follansbee deputy police chief.

The other will be familiar to many students. He is Paul Pownall, who is retiring in July after serving the Wellsburg Police Department for 28 years.

In recent years, Pownall has served as resource officer at Brooke Middle School through agreements between the school district, the City of Wellsburg and the Brooke County Sheriff's Department.

Crook said next year Pownall will continue to serve at the middle school but as an employee of the school district.

He said Casto will be assigned to Brooke Primary North and Brooke Intermediate North while Dave Frey, previously hired as a resource officer, will serve Brooke Primary South and Brooke Intermediate South.

Crook confirmed that John White, a former Brooke County sheriff's deputy, will continue to oversee the officers while serving at Brooke High School.

Crook told the school board, "With your approval, we've developed quite a team of school resource officers."

He said all of the men felt called to serve the schools in that capacity.

You have to be a special kind of person (for the job)," said Crook, who added, "It's not about putting a body in the school. It's about putting the right person in a school."

He told the four, "We're glad to have you on board with us looking after the safety of everyone."

The four were among many full-time and substitute personnel whose hirings were approved by the board.

Others included David Secrist, currently principal of the Bruin Bridge alternative learning center, as assistant principal at Brooke Middle School; Eric Estep as automotive technology instructor at the high school; and Doug Costain as head baseball coach for the high school.

Also on Monday, Board Vice President Antoinette Perkins asked that all board members and staff refrain from using their cell phones while the board is being addressed by a visitor or a presentation is being made to a student or others.

"I think it's disrespectful to the people who are up here," she said, while noting she's not opposed to cell phone use during other portions of the meetings.

Perkins added she doesn't think a formal policy is needed.

Board President Ted Pauls told Perkins, "I don't think you'll get much opposition to that."

Crook agreed, saying, "We'll oblige that request, Mrs. Perkins."

The board also accepted the following bids:

— $14,950 from Brownlee Lumber of Wellsburg for 14 windows for Brooke Intermediate South.

— $51,028 from Standard Air & Lite Corp. of Pittsburgh for two carrier heating, ventilation and air conditioning units for the high school gym.

— $35,691 from Axios Paving of Wintersville for paving of the parking lot at Brooke Primary North.

— $21,540 from Dan Taylor Interiors of Pittsburgh to patch and repair ceramic tile as needed in the high school's kitchen.

— $300,000 from Blackstone Roofing of Winchester, Va. to replace the roof of Brooke Primary South.

— $30,371 from the Contract Paper Group of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, for 22 skids of white paper.

It was announced that during the summer months, the board's meetings will be held at 5 p.m., an hour earlier, on the first and fourth Mondays of June, July and August.