Jefferson County Schools

charlestown@herald-mail.com HARPERS FERRY, W.Va. - The regular tax levy rate for Jefferson County Schools in the 2004-05 fiscal year will remain the same under a proposal approved by the Jefferson County Board of Education on Tuesday night. The rates, which are set by the Legislature, have not changed in 10 years, school officials said. The Board of Education, meeting at Harpers Ferry Middle School, approved a proposed levy rate of 40.66 cents for every $100 of assessed value of residential property in the county.

charlestown@herald-mail.com After touring a handful of Jefferson County schools Wednesday morning and observing classes being held in converted break rooms and storage areas, West Virginia Board of Education members said they believe the local school system will be looked on favorably for more construction funding. State Superintendent of Schools David Stewart, after walking through hallways crowded with students and looking in on cafeterias and classrooms full of pupils, said the schools are "definitely overcrowded.

charlestown@herald-mail.com CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - In addition to 155 new students, Jefferson County Schools also dealt with lightning strikes, power interruptions and a misplaced furniture order when it opened to students last week, Superintendent of Schools R. Steven Nichols said Tuesday. On the second day of school, the school system had a total of 7,158 students, which is 155 more than it had last year at the same time, Nichols told the Jefferson County Board of Education Tuesday night.

charlestown@herald-mail.com CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - A state official predicted that Gov. Bob Wise's decision to lobby a state agency for funding for a second high school in Jefferson County will have little impact on the decision process. Clacy Williams, executive director of the state School Building Authority, said he believes the need for a new high school in the county presents a strong enough argument that the project should be funded. "The project, I think, can stand on its own merit," said Williams, adding he believes Wise's effect of lobbying for the money will be "nil.

charlestown@herald-mail.com CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - Some students in Jefferson County Schools may end up going to other schools in the county to offset crowded conditions in classrooms. In education circles, it's called redistricting. Jefferson County Superintendent of Schools R. Steven Nichols told the Jefferson County Board of Education last Tuesday night that he believes school officials are going to have to consider some redistricting proposals to offset crowding conditions in some schools.

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - Blue Ridge Elementary School and T.A. Lowery Elementary School in Jefferson County, W.Va., will be closed today because of power outages, Jefferson County Schools announced on its Web site. All other county schools are operating on time today, according to the Web site.

Officials easing up on no-charge policy CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. - For the next two months, Jefferson County Schools officials will ease up on their new requirement that students be prohibited from charging their lunches. Since the new policy was started last week, there has been confusion among some students about the change, according to Superintendent of Schools R. Steven Nichols. Some students who did not have money for lunch were confused about what to do with the new policy in place, Nichols said.

charlestown@herald-mail.com CHARLES TOWN W.Va. - Jefferson County Schools officials are considering building a second high school on land where the proposed Huntfield subdivision would be located, Schools Superintendent Jud Romine said Thursday. Greenvest, L.C., the Vienna, Va., firm that will develop Huntfield, has offered the school system 60 acres for a school, Romine told the Jefferson County Commissioners Thursday. Huntfield, which is expected to include 3,300 homes, would be built on 1,000 acres south of Charles Town along old U.S. 340. The 60 acres for the school would be located along Huyett Road, which turns off U.S. 340, said Romine.