City council meeting in Buckhannon, West Virginia, focuses on education and holiday preparation

"Over the past few weeks and months, I've been really discouraged about our school system. We have great teachers and staff, but I'm really concerned that our children are falling way behind. Our county used to be a county that you could contend with. We were ranked highly and our academics were at the top of the list now we're at the bottom," she said.

Hanifan thinks more after school opportunities for further academic growth such as a STEM facility or science center would be a great help to the students in the county.

"That would not only create more opportunities for our kids, but it would also be creating opportunities for people around the state to come visit Buckhannon and increase tourism. It's more opportunities to make Buckhannon a destination. This is a big dream, but Buckhannon is a place of big dreams," she said.

Mayor Robbie Skinner also mentioned the increase in poverty in the county and how it affects the students.

"In 1989, we had roughly the same number of students enrolled in Upshur County schools then as we do now. 12% of Upshur County qualified for free and reduced lunch in 1989, but today that percentage is well over 60%. So our enrollment has stayed the same, yet more students are under that line than they were before," he said.

Skinner also said that he believes the job of making sure students are educated is a community effort that needs to be addressed.

"I believe in us and that we are a strong community and if anybody can do it, I believe we can, but it's going to take an entire community effort. It's not just the board of education's problem, it's not just the Superintendent's problem, it is our problem as a community," he said.

Councilman Jack Reger mentioned a board meeting that will be held on Dec. 9th where the State Department of Education will be addressing some of the problems in Upshur County schools.

"They're presenting their 'fix it' plan for Upshur County schools. I encourage everybody to go and hear what the state has to say. Hopefully we get some positive input on how our system is going to be fixed," he said.

Along with discussions of education, the council also agreed to provide $1,500 to BURMA and Baxa Inn for the Christmas visits Fairyland fundraiser on Dec. 9th which saw almost 2,000 people attending last year when only 200 were estimated.

City Recorder Randy Sanders also mentioned an ongoing food drive that will benefit the Upshur County Parish House.

"The city of Buckhannon is pledging nonperishable food items to the Upshur Parish House and inviting everyone to drop those items off here at city hall. We're going to start pushing it heavily in social media and asking people to spread the word. This is a friendly challenge put out by our friends from the Courthouse and the county commissioners there who are doing the same thing. We both want to be very successful," he said.