Three candidates for Putnam County Board of Education took a stance on teaching the theories of creationism and evolution Thursday.
Bruce Knell, who has 40 years of teaching experience, believes creationism should be taught in Putnam County Schools just as Charles Darwin's theory of evolution is taught.
"I think we can't single one position," Knell said. "If we're going to teach one, we should teach all theories."
Knell, along with incumbents Sam Sentelle and Jack Coyner met with Gazette-Mail editors Thursday. Diana McCallister is also a candidate for one of the two open spots on the Putnam Board of Education, but did not attend the meeting Thursday.
Sentelle, who is currently president of the West Virginia School Board Association, said that both theories are just that -- theories -- and should be taught as such.
"I don't think we should be teaching creationism or evolution as a fact," Sentelle said.
Coyner, who has served on the board three times with Sentelle, took a more neutral stance on the topic. He said he teaches whatever is in the textbooks provided to him.
"If it's in the book I'll teach it," Coyner said. "I don't want to start a riot."
He mentioned controversies in Texas, where battles have gone on over the depiction of world religions and racial terminology in textbooks. Publishers worked with academics to update the textbooks, but the controversies continued.
"History is not going to be correct if they keep doing that," Coyner said.
Knell pointed out the "astronomical cost" of textbooks and said he would do whatever it takes to save the taxpayers money, even if it means switching to tablets and other technology-based learning. Both Sentelle and Coyner agreed physical textbooks are probably on their way out.
All three candidates, who all are retired and have long histories working in various degrees at Putnam County Schools, agreed that progress is going well with the district.
Sentelle supports giving local school boards more power. He said the county school board has been having issues with the state board, specifically concerning Common Core standards.
In late 2014, Putnam County Board of Education members told state education officials that the district preferred switching back to the traditional method of teaching math.
"We were never asked for our opinion," Sentelle said. "Local boards need to be responsible for local schools."
Coyner didn't have anything negative to say about the state board.
"They really don't bother us all that much," Coyner said.
Knell acknowledged the West Virginia Office of Education Performance Audits, and said the audits the state performs are good because there has to be some criteria used to evaluate school systems in West Virginia.
In 2016, 52 teachers and staff retired from Putnam County Schools.
Coyner said Putnam County Schools do have vacancies, but haven't seen as many as other counties in West Virginia. He pointed out the shortage of science and math teachers.
Sentelle said pay has always been an issue, but Putnam County ranks number one in West Virginia for contract pay. The area also attracts teachers because of its location with numerous colleges nearby.
Knell praised the school district for providing incentives to employees who announce their retirement in a timely manner.
"I think this (vacancies) is a problem we're going to be facing every year," Knell said. "We have to look in the future how we're going to address that."
When it comes to filling vacancies, he hopes to inspire more students to become teachers once they graduate. He said if a student tells him that they want to be a teacher, he would definitely encourage that.
Coyner, however, said in the same scenario he would ask the student why he or she would want to be a teacher. He said the students in Putnam schools are excellent, but the problem is the expense of education.
"It costs so much to go to college to get a teacher salary," Coyner said. "It is awful."
Another problem Sentelle addressed with staffing is the special education teaching. The district utilizes retired teachers to help special education students keep up with their peers.
"We don't have resources for one-on-one education, which you need with some of these youngsters," Sentelle said.
Recently, some parents in Putnam County have expressed dissatisfaction with the "Leader in Me" program at the elementary and middle schools.
Leader in Me is a nationwide initiative based on the bestselling book, "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People," by Stephen Covey. All 14 elementary schools and two middle schools have adopted the program, which all three candidates agree has its pros and cons.
Coyner said he anticipated problems arising with the "Leader in Me" program when it was first introduced. He said the program might need to be reevaluated to see what benefit the students are getting from it.
Sentelle said the program was initially pushed from the top down, and the administrators who pushed for the programming are no longer employed by the district. The program is implemented in different phases, and each school is progressing at its own rate. Sentelle said some schools have more success than others.
The election for Putnam County Board of Education is May 10, and early voting begins April 27.
Reach Laura Haight at laura.haight@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4843 or follow @laurahaight_ on Twitter.