Resignation of Wood BOE member Townsend on Thursday's agenda

Sarah Townsend

PARKERSBURG – The Wood County Board of Education will meet Thursday to vote on approving the resignation of board member Sarah Townsend and to discuss possible action regarding an appointment to fill the vacancy.

The next meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. and will be held at the board offices at Plum and 13th streets in Parkersburg. The meeting is public and will be streamed online.

Townsend could not immediately be reached for comment.

She would be the second board member to resign this year. Debbie Hendershot resigned at the end of January to run for Wood County magistrate. The board has appointed Rick Olcott to temporarily fill the vacancy. That seat is up for grabs in Tuesday’s general election, with Olcott facing off against Chad Conley, Ryan Henry and Randy Modesitt to fill the remainder of the term.

It was not immediately clear this weekend whether a special election would be needed to fill out the remainder of Townsend’s term. She was elected in May 2022 and took office in July.

The board will also recognize the winners of the Vaping Prevention competition and the drug prevention survey conducted by Cathy Grewe, retired coordinator of student services and assessment.

There will also be a safety update from Jeremy Bell, safety and security coordinator, and Kaleb Lawrence, assistant superintendent of operations.