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West Virginia High School to Use Marshall Athletic Trainers

Article reposted from Charleston Gazette-Mail
Author: Laura Haight

Putnam County Schools is trying out a new type of athletic trainer for Hurricane High School.

The Putnam County Board of Education approved an agreement between Putnam County Schools, University Physicians and Surgeons and Marshall University to hire a graduate assistant athletic trainer.

This position will come at no cost to the board or Hurricane High School.

Superintendent John Hudson told the board this agreement will be a trial run, and if all goes well the other high schools in the district may be included.

“It’s a win-win for both people,” Board Member William Legg said of the graduate assistant getting experience and the high school getting a free service.

The graduate assistant would have to meet all provisions as required in state code, Hudson told the board. He was also confident that the contract would prevent the schools from any legal issues if something were to go wrong.

The board also accepted a Major Improvement Grant contract from the West Virginia School Building Authority to renovate Buffalo Elementary School.

The elementary school will receive new window replacements, ceiling tiles, lighting fixtures and a new cafeteria to bring the school up to date. Renovations would have come sooner, but the district had been exploring the option of building a new school with Mason County. However, that agreement fell through.

“This specific project is much needed at Buffalo Elementary,” Hudson said.

The board still has to go through with the bid process and hopes to begin work on the school by late spring 2017.

Most of the work would be done while students aren’t in school, and Hudson said at a previous meeting that he expects the project will be complete by fall 2017.

In total, the project will cost a little under $700,000, with the district paying roughly half of that.

The Putnam County Board of Education will meet again Aug. 15 at 7 p.m. at the central office in Winfield.

Reach Laura Haight at laura.haight@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4843 or follow @laurahaight_ on Twitter.

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