(Photo by Douglas Huxley) Vienna Mayor Randy Rapp and Vienna City Councilmember Barbara Joyce on Tuesday asked the Wood County Board of Education to donate the Vienna Elementary School site to the city for use by the recreation department. formally requested.
PARKERSBURG — Vienna Mayor Randy Rupp on Tuesday night formally asked the Wood County Board of Education to donate the Vienna Elementary School site to the city for use by the recreation department.
Rupp was accompanied by Vienna City Councilor Barbara Joyce.
“No gym has ever been able to accommodate a recreational program,” Rupp told the board. “There are so many activities in town that can take advantage of the stages and cafeterias that you have. I think it’s going to give us more options than we’ve ever had before.”
Rupp said the city also has plans to address the long-standing flooding problem on 41st Street by installing a storage system in the school parking lot.
“The water disappears quickly, but when it rains really hard, it’s almost impassable,” Rupp said.
Mr. Joyce emphasized the need for more space for day care and recreation programs, recalling that in the past Vienna had to coordinate with the school district to use gymnasiums for recreational activities.
“I did it every Saturday and Sunday afternoon for years,” Joyce said. “And it would be really nice to have our own gym and we wouldn’t be bothering you all the time. So thank you very much and for our village, the village of Vienna. Please consider this.”
Board chairman Justin Lover said this was a “huge possibility” that the board could “keep under advisement” as we move forward.
“There is a great working relationship between the Wood County Board of Education, Wood County Schools, and the City of Vienna, and I could not be more grateful for it,” Lover said. “These types of projects are what make our community thrive.”
Superintendent Christy Willis, editor-in-chief Kenneth Trump, president of National School Safety and Security Services, a Cleveland-based national school safety consulting firm, has spent the past two weeks in Wood County inspecting area schools. He talked about visiting and speaking with administrators and staff. to gather information for a comprehensive safety review of the district.
“He travels all over the country and does this for school districts,” Willis said. “He said Wood County Schools has one of the best camera surveillance systems he has seen.”
She said President Trump also praised the cleanliness and pride of the school facilities, particularly noting that the floors were spotless. She said President Trump also praised Safety Director Jeremy Bell for his passion and commitment to continuing to make Wood County schools a safe place for students.
Willis said President Trump will submit a final report with recommendations in early 2025. In the meantime, the district said it is working to streamline its crisis media plan and create more concise emergency procedures to share with staff.
“But[we]found that that crisis media plan was very verbose, and in an emergency situation you need a very concise document,” Willis said.
She said a two-page document will be created and shared with all school staff.
The board will meet tonight at 6 p.m. at Martin Elementary School, 1301 Hillcrest Street, and at 7:30 p.m. at Fair Plains Elementary School, 615 Broadway Avenue, to continue the closing hearing. Speakers are asked to register between 5:30 and 6 p.m. if they wish to speak at Martin Elementary School and between 7 and 7:30 p.m. if they wish to speak at Fair Plains.
