McDowell Schools to Vote on Ag Teacher, Cell Phone Policy in April

West Virginia's House Bill 2003 directs county school boards to maintain written policies for personal devices in schools, covering cell phones, smartwatches, and portable gaming devices. The McDowell County Board of Education voted at its April 7 meeting on its districtwide version of those rules, acting on procedures that govern whether devices are permitted in classrooms, how they must be stored during instruction, and when repeated violations trigger confiscation.

State law also establishes two exemptions boards must honor: students with individualized education programs and diabetic students whose phones connect to continuous glucose monitors or similar medical aids retain access to those devices. Boards are required to log violations in the West Virginia Education Information System, creating a formal discipline record tied to each incident.

The meeting in Welch also produced two personnel votes. The board approved Myla Donovan as the district's Agricultural Education teacher and FFA Coordinator, a career-technical hire that carries particular weight in McDowell County, where vocational programming represents one of the few structured pipelines connecting students to hands-on skills in a county with limited local industry. Nate McCraven was approved as Summer Recreation Director, staffing a seasonal youth program that extends the district's reach beyond the academic calendar.

Superintendent Dr. Ingrida Barker's administration also brought forward an update to the School Board Handbook, which governs meeting procedures, member conduct, and the working relationship between elected board members and district leadership. Revising that document alongside the cell phone policy put both student-facing behavioral rules and internal governance standards before the board in the same session.

Rounding out the April 7 agenda were a budget report, updates from principals and the activities director, and a committee report covering negotiations, indicating that contract discussions between the district and its labor representatives remain active.