Its mission has changed during the last 80 years but the Lawrence County Educational Service Center’s focus hasn’t blurred.

Thursday, September 07, 2000

Its mission has changed during the last 80 years but the Lawrence County Educational Service Center’s focus hasn’t blurred.

"We try to build up our schools so we have the best educational system we can," county superintendent Harold Shafer said.

"If the districts need it, we try to get it for them."

That philosophy of need drives the ESC, commonly called the county school board, into not only a leadership role but also a helpful one, Shafer said.

"Many people say, ‘We don’t know what you do,’" board president Gerald Love said.

When they look around and see social workers in the schools, see that schools have fewer discipline problems because of the alternative school or see hundreds of thousands of grant dollars operating in the district, they have an answer, Love said.

County boards were established by state law in 1914 to oversee all local school districts’ fiscal and policy responsibilities.

They have evolved into something a little different now, Shafer said.

School psychologists, special education supervisors, Talented and Gifted supervisors, truancy officers, social workers, curriculum specialists, safe and drug free schools coordinator, trainers – they’re all housed in the county board’s third floor courthouse office, and accessible to all districts, he said.

The board remains responsible for the five local districts and operates under a city-county agreement with Ironton schools. Chesapeake is an exempted district but is included in many programs.

All schools have similar service needs, Shafer said.

That’s why the state changed county boards’ official name to "educational service centers" in 1995, he said.

It’s an aggressive school board whose middle name is countywide assistance, Love said.

It does not dictate to local districts, instead becoming a tool, he said.

The board office certifies bus drivers, helps districts with curriculum plans and state-required reports and does personnel hiring assistance. The superintendent also has an ear for any local district board member or staff person, Shafer said.

"We provide educational materials that districts sometimes cannot afford on their own," Shafer said, mentioning the truant officers as an example.

"Of course, the law books are full of responsibilities of a county school board."

And there have been some tough jobs handed to Lawrence County’s, like when it had to step in and operate the South Point school system more than 30 years ago, Shafer added.

"We try to be active, try to let people know we support them," he said.

The board supported all the districts’ building projects by resolution, for example.

"Education is important," Shafer said. "Our job is to find out how we can help our locals do that. The role of a county board might have changed a lot but it’s still a very integral part of the system."

County board members include Love, Ray Malone, Roland Hayes, Phil Carpenter and Darrell Davis. The board meets the last Monday of each month.