Five candidates are seeking the two available seats on the Wetzel County Board of Education: Amy Jo Dieffenbauch, Carolyn Lemasters, Linda S. Ritz, Dan Snyder, and Anna M. Watson.



A lifelong resident of Wetzel County, Amy Jo Dieffenbauch attended Short Line and Valley High Schools. After high school she attended Fairmont State College and West Virginia Northern Community College.

Dieffenbauch is the daughter of Barbara Anne Amos King and the late Bob King of Pine Grove. She has been married to Jim Dieffenbauch for 21 years and has twin children, Luke and Lindsay, who are freshmen at Magnolia High School. Jim is employed by the Wetzel County Board of Education as a maintenance employee.

Dieffenbauch was employed for 13 years by Ormet Aluminum. She started her career as sales and marketing secretary at the corporate office in Wheeling and when the plant was closed she was the Division Marketing and Product Manager at the Hannibal Rolling Mill. Dieffenbauch now handles sales and marketing for Leveltek Processing, LLC with facilities in Benwood, W.Va., and Laporte, Ind.

Dieffenbauch is on the Board of Directors for the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Association of Women in the Metals Industry. She also belongs to the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Metal Service Center Institute, Association of Steel Distributors, and Outside Processing Council. Dieffenbauch is also a new member of the Wetzel County Democratic Women’s Club.

Carolyn Lemasters is a 1989 graduate of Magnolia High School. She has two daughters: Katie Haught, a 2007 graduate of MHS, and Carlin Haught, a sophomore attending MHS. Lemasters received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from West Virginia University-Parkersburg. While attending WVU-P she also received certification in Purchasing Competency. Currently Lemasters is the district manager for Domino’s Pizza.

Her community involvement includes president of the New Martinsville River Heritage Foundation, treasurer of the New Martinsville Plaza Association, commissioner on the Paden City Park and Pool Board, and co-organizer of the Labor Day Parade and Labor Film Festival in Paden City. She has worked with the administration of the New Martinsville School to re-establish the Social Studies Fair. She is proud to report that over the last four years the school has had over 15 projects represented at the state level fair, with over 10 projects receiving honorable mention or higher. She is also a certified member of the Tyler County Community Emergency Response Team and is currently attending classes to receive her specification as a Public Information Officer.

Linda S. Ritz is a lifelong resident of Wetzel County. Her father was William Cecil and her mother is Geraldine Cecil. He has been married for over 40 years to Keith Ritz, a former Wetzel County educator. They are the parents of three children, Beth Ritz, Julie Valentin, and Ben Ritz; and one granddaughter, Brinly Ritz.

She grew up in Wileyville where she attended grade school and then graduated from Magnolia High School.

Her first job was as a clerk for the WV DOH, left that position to work as a laboratory analyst at PPG for six years until she became a stay-at-home mom for nine years before returning to school, West Virginia Northern Community College, to become a Registered Nurse. She worked at WCH, the offices of Dr. Coffield and Morris, and the Wheeling Clinic, before she found the job that was right for me—Public Health—where she retired from in August.

She decided upon retirement that she would like to continue to be involved with the public doing community service during retirement. She would appreciate the opportunity to work for the children, parents, and teachers of Wetzel County and, if given the chance, will be a fair and impartial board member.

Dan Snyder did not submit a biography or photograph, but did answer the questionnairre.

Anna M. Watson did not submit a biography, photograph, or answers to the Wetzel Chronicle.



What do you think about the currently debated idea to abolish county boards of education and establish a centralized ministry of education?



Dieffenbauch: I think the abolishment of local boards of education and the establishment of a centralized ministry of education will be the downfall of public education. The needs of small rural schools and large urban schools are completely different. Do you think that Wetzel County Schools will be given the same attention a large school in Charleston would receive? My fear is that smaller schools would fall to the wayside and not get the funding and attention they deserve.



Lemasters: I researched the concept of a Centralized Ministry of Education, reading various articles and talking to different teachers about their thoughts. My research has led me to feel that this system has many merits including the larger share of government resources and services that would be available to each district. However, in most cases Educational Ministries are backed and developed by the National Governing Bodies of the countries that they are housed, such as Canada, Singapore, and England. It would be important that any such concept be strongly supported by our State Government prior to implementing and that small test districts are monitored for success and failure.



Ritz: I think it would be a huge mistake. Local input into any agency is invaluable. You cannot apply one size fits all thinking to problems. Each locality has its own special needs and resources and local residents know better what these are than someone living an hour or more away. Also the larger the agency the less involvement you see, everyone thinks someone else is responsible. When you regionalize those areas with a larger population tend to have more influence than those with fewer residents.

Decisions are often made for what is seen as the greater good and smaller areas’ needs are not seen as a priority. Therefore, important decisions are often made by a few individuals. In many communities, the school system is the glue that holds the community together and gives them a feeling of pride. I would hate to see that sense of community lost.



Snyder: I’m really not sure because this is a an issue I’m not familiar with. If the state has district or regional boards. What kind of representation will our county have? This issue might cause consolidation and I know speaking to a few people that they don’t want that to happen. I don’t think this is a good idea!



Do you believe school employees should be required to report illegal activities to law enforcement authorities and not keep the matter within the school system?



Dieffenbauch: Yes. I believe this is already a law that school employees must report any and all illegal activity to law enforcement authorities. The safety of our children must be everyone’s top priority.



Lemasters: Currently they are required to report illegal activities and situations that threaten the safety of a child (children). It is imperative that processes are in place to allow for the confidential and structured flow of communication between authorities, administration, and students without disrupting the education of all. Our school systems’ main concern is educating children and maintaining a safe environment for them to develop educationally and socially.



Ritz: I cannot imagine any situation where the law has been broken that law enforcement should not be notified. Illegal is illegal whether it happens in the home, on the street, or in a school. I agree that there are degrees of seriousness, but if an infraction has occurred I think law enforcement should be made aware of the situation and have input into how the incident should be handled.



Snyder: School employees should report illegal activities to the administration in charge, who in turn will contact proper law enforcement if it is deemed necessary. I know the school board has an open rapport with local, county, and state law officials when it comes to illegal activities in the school system.



How do you think Wetzel County Schools could improve their performance?



Dieffenbauch: Continue with the “Learning in the 21st Century” program. This provides the technologies to take us anywhere in the world to experience different business climates, cultures, and education practices. I promote the smaller classroom settings. More one on one contact with teachers will help improve test scores. I would like to continue the reading initiative program.

Discipline is a big concern in this county. It starts at home. Teachers are hired to educate our children. We need a disciplinary plan that applies to all students and that is regularly implemented—no exceptions.

I would also like to see more advance placement classes offered at the high school level.



Lemasters: I would like to see a strong development of 21st Century Learning Skills that corrects our current weakness in reading and math performance.

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Increasing specialized applications of math, science, and reading based on career paths at the secondary school level. In order to achieve this, a stronger background of these contents, standards, and objectives must be implemented in our elementary schools. Monies for staffing and professional development of our teachers should be secured to meet the mission of Wetzel County Schools: “Educating Individuals for Success.”

I firmly believe that children are the backbone of our future. We as a community and an educational administration must provide a wide range of curricular opportunities for them to succeed in our diverse and ever-evolving society. I pledge to maintain Equality and Quality in our student’s education. I will listen and communicate with the public and the teaching staff, researching and evaluating all aspects of concerns and opportunities. I will work with grant writers and the administration to ensure that necessary equipment and training are available and offered when needed to ensure the high level of education for which Wetzel County Schools is known continues.



Ritz: I would like to see Wetzel County Schools be able to raise the number of students who are proficient in reading and math. Reading and math are the foundation for success in other subjects.



Snyder: I know the school board has done everything within guidelines set by the state. We need to progress with the 21st century. There are new teaching techniques for the grade school level to keep our students above the standards that the state recommends.