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MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — Around 40 people were on hand Monday night as the PEIA Finance Board brought its public hearing to Martinsburg.

A show of hands revealed a handful of state workers, one local government official and three retirees.

The rest were made up of mostly public schools employees. Among those speaking. Jacqueline Sanchez, who said one employee shared that she and her husband have about $250 left after paying their necessary bills and PEIA premiums, not enough to pay the approximately $900 a month she said they would need to pay for her husband’s diabetes medicine. He’s gone into ketoacidosis twice, and as of Monday night, was in the ICU.

Sanchez said the employee who wrote the letter talked about choices she’s had to make.

“’We are getting hit with spousal surcharge. We have Plan B because Plan A was too expensive, but Plan B is proving to be just as much. Because of this, we are having to choose between which bills we aren’t paying, not eating, not getting our medical attention. I have chosen not eating, eating only once a day when I get home, which has led to irritability and health issues.,’” Sanchez said of the letter writer.

Jana Woofter is a chemistry teacher at Spring Mills High School. The 1- year teaching veteran spoke to elected officials in saying it seems every year teachers take one step forward and two back in terms of pay and benefits.

“We’re already seeing the consequences across the state. Vacancies that go unfilled, classrooms covered by substitutes, and experienced teachers leaving the state for states like Maryland (and) Virginia, not because they want to, but because they simply cannot afford to stay, teachers, bus drivers, service personnel, law enforcement and countless other public employees,” Woofter said.

She then addressed state lawmakers in the room.

“Legislators, please remember this is not just insurance. Behind every line in this financial report, there are people, families who serve this state with everything they have. We ask you to consider the real human cost of these increases and work with our PEIA Financial board to find a lasting solution that doesn’t push more West Virginians out of public service.”

Teacher Heather Smith leveled criticism at lawmakers as she addressed the PEIA board:

“Locality pay. How long have we been asking for help up in here? ‘Oh, yeah, we’re going to do locality pay,” she said. “Yeah, I don’t see it coming because I’ll tell you what, (Berkeley County School Board member) Pat Murphy, who was a delegate, went down to Charleston. And y’all wouldn’t even meet with him for locality pay. So don’t be all like talking up in here like you’re gonna actually do something.”

Amber Stokes compared the cost of living in Martinsburg to other areas in the state.

“I’ve been an employee for 28 years. I’ve always worked two jobs. This year I’m working three jobs. My home is worth about $330,000. I have an acre of land. My husband and I worked very hard for that,” Stokes said. “I can go to other parts of the state and other counties and buy the same home with five to ten acres for roughly $200,000. That’s the difference between the Eastern Panhandle and the rest of the state,” with maybe the exception of Morgantown according to Stokes.

Some who spoke, including a retiree, pointed out that their benefits in retirement do not increase even if premiums do. Service employee Christy Skidmore asked the PEIA board to look into tiering the cost of the spousal surcharge so that service employees like herself would not pay the same surcharge as someone with higher pay, like a superintendent in the school system.

Many of the legislative delegation echoed 99^th District Delegate Wayne Clark’s public remarks that the delegation Is only 13 of 134 in both the state house and senate, and when they try to get locality passed each year, the rest of the state’s lawmakers don’t have an appetite for it.

“My wife is a teacher,” the Jefferson County lawmaker said. “We pay this spousal surcharge, too.”

“We continue to introduce plans. We continue to get the fights from other parts of the state. I can assure you that we are going to do everything we can. We’re going to try as hard as we can to make this a better place to live.”

“We understand that folks can easily get across the border in one or two miles and make a better living for themselves. We want our teachers to stay here.”

At the end of the day, he says the 13 member Eastern Panhandle delegation is ‘ outnumbered.’

95^th Delegate Chuck Horst says locality pay is a tough sell in other counties.

“When I first ran for office, I thought it was something that we would get done within a couple of years. That hasn’t panned out.”

“Every legislator here in the Eastern Panhandle supports and fights for locality pay. My take or my suspicion is many of these delegates, senators from rural areas of the state, they look at Eastern Panhandle as having everything, and I get a sense that they feel like we shouldn’t have to give them this extra (cost of living increase).”

15th District Senator Darren Thorne said lawmakers from other counties want teachers to be paid the same. “It’s not that they won’t do locality pay,” he said. “It’s that they want the same pay. So it’s not necessarily a locality pay at that point, right?”

“Then we have to do it across the whole state. They see that if we give a $20,000 raise to Berkeley County that they’re going to want that same, you know, in Mingo County.”

Berkeley County Board of Education President Jackee Long and members Patrick Murphy and Damon Wright were in attendance at the hearing.

President Long laid out the challenges for teachers and service personnel in a high cost of living area. “The lowest price of a home in Berkeley County ranges from $260,000 to $275,000,” Long said. “A median priced home in Berkeley County ranges around $300,000 to$ 330,000.”

“Needless to say, our education employees are not fortunate enough to be able to purchase those homes because average Berkeley County teacher salary is $50,495. The average Berkeley County service personnel salary is $28,894.”

Damon Wright spoke to the board and questioned whether changing the funding formula for the Hope Scholarship might be a way to offset costs for the PEIA program.

“Would there be any consideration for a limit on how much that’s going to be increasing and use that money to shore up not just public education, but our state workers?” Wright asked.

“None of us on the board are against school choice, and most people around the state are not against school choice at all. That’s perfectly fine that parents want to make different decisions rather than the public school system,” Wright said.

“I don’t want to call it a scholarship program,” Wright said. “I was on scholarship through school for my my grades. The Hope scholarship program is just you just have to be here in West Virginia and you get it. It’s not really anything you have to do to get it. So it’s a voucher program.”

More than one of the speakers pointed out to the PEIA Finance Board in attendance that the board was “playing the hand” dealt by lawmakers.

For their part, delegates said one way to offset costs in an area with a high cost of living is locality pay, which has been hard to get off the ground.

Public hearings have been scheduled around the state and virtually.

The next two meetings are in Charleston and Morgantown.

The virtual town hall is set for Nov. 20.

The fiscal year 2027 budget is being developed. As of September, West Virginia revenue officials had already begun drafting the general revenue budget for fiscal year 2027, which begins July 1st of next year.

Costs are expected to increase, and state revenue officials project the state’s portion of PEIA premiums will increase by $49 million in fiscal year 2027, which is likely to result in higher premium costs for public employees.

Note: this article has been edited to clarify criticisms of one speaker toward lawmakers not the local school board.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Morgantown football coach Sean Biser was convinced the score didn’t tell the whole story in the Mohigans’ 34-6 regular season loss at Martinsburg.

Veteran Bulldogs’ coach Dave Walker had a similar sentiment regarding the matchup from eight weeks back.

In the more meaningful matchup Friday afternoon at UC Stadium at Laidley Field, those thoughts proved especially true as No. 1 Morgantown scored two touchdowns in the final 22 seconds of the first half and another on the opening second-half series, before hanging on for a memorable 28-21 victory over the No. 3 Bulldogs in the Class AAAA state championship.

“Our kids have worked so hard and put so much time and effort in,” Biser said. “Our students, fans and cheerleaders, the whole school and community is fantastic at MHS. It means a ton.”

Morgantown improves to 6-2 in state title games, while the Bulldogs had an 11-game win streak on that stage snapped and fell to 11-5 in state championships.

The Mohigans (13-1) were forced to hang on for dear life in the late stages as the Bulldogs (11-3) scored on Terrell Cofield’s 3-yard run, which combined with Cody Paige’s third point-after kick, brought Martinsburg to within seven points with 4:31 remaining.

Standout sophomore quarterback/defensive back Maddox Twigg had been sidelined throughout the fourth until the Mohigans’ regained possession after recovering an onside kick with 4:26 left. But Twigg’s presence couldn’t help the Mohigans generate a first down, and they instead went three-and-out and punted it back to Martinsburg, which got a 23-yard return from Boston Todd to start at its 41-yard line.

With one timeout at its disposal, Martinsburg needed to gain 59 yards in 1:52, and the Bulldogs picked up more than half of it on the first play when Brian Dick found a leaping Mason Walley for a 36-yard completion.

The Bulldogs called their final timeout prior to Dick completing a 10-yard pass to Todd on fourth-and-7, and the Bulldogs then rushed to the line and spiked the ball with 25 seconds left.

On second down, Dick rushed for 2 yards and got out of bounds, before keeping it again and gaining 1 yard on a third down run up the middle that ended with him tackled inbounds and the clock running. The Bulldogs rushed to the line of scrimmage with time winding down in an effort to get off one final play on fourth and down, but Dick instead spiked the ball into the turf upon receiving the snap for a game-sealing incompletion with 1 second remaining.

“We had a play called and there was just a miscommunication, I guess,” Walker said. “Hats off to Morgantown. They outplayed us. We waited a little too long to start playing.”

The Mohigans’ Chase Davis recovered a Kingston McDonald-Gibson fumble on the second play from scrimmage, but the Bulldogs defense forced a turnover on downs in the red zone to keep the matchup scoreless for the time being.

After Martinsburg’s second series ended with a punt, Twigg threw a 62-yard pass to Carter Cooper, and four plays later, Twigg ran right and cutback left to find plenty of running room on a 20-yard touchdown scamper on fourth-and-9. Aiden Petsko’s point-after attempt was blocked, leaving Morgantown with a 6-0 lead at the 2:05 mark of the opening quarter.

“I didn’t think we played too bad the first time. We just didn’t make plays. When our kids scored first, I knew we had a chance, because our kids believed,” Biser said.

The Bulldogs gained their first and only lead of the matchup at 7-6 when Dick received a goal line pitch from Ty Ricketts and reached the end zone for a 1-yard TD run 3:05 before halftime. Martinsburg was 5-for-5 on third down during that series, including a 22-yard pass from Dick to Todd when faced with third-and-22 on its own 8.

But the Mohigans countered with perhaps the most critical scoring series of the contest, moving 90 yards on nine plays and regaining the advantage on Twigg’s 2-yard touchdown run 22 seconds before halftime. Twigg completed passes of 29 and 32 yards to Tanzer George on consecutive plays prior to crossing the goal line for his team’s second TD. Twigg also ran in the 2-point attempt to leave Morgantown with a 14-7 advantage

Kane Williams recovered Walley’s fumble on the ensuing kickoff, and after setting up shop at the Bulldogs’ 21, Twigg threw a third down pass to George to cover that distance for a touchdown and 21-7 halftime lead.

“You score two touchdowns that quick, it’s hard to come back from that,” Twigg said.

Cooper’s 47-yard kickoff return to start the second half provided Morgantown with ideal field position, and the Mohigans took advantage of it when Twigg punched it in from 4 yards for his third rushing score, leaving the Bulldogs facing a 21-point deficit at the 7:08 mark of the third. It marked Morgantown’s third straight touchdown drive, while the Bulldogs did not run a play from scrimmage during that time.

“They were a lot more physical this time around than the first time we played them or we weren’t as physical maybe,” Walker said. “Twigg’s a really good player, especially for a sophomore. Defensively, they played well. They just played hard and our guys didn’t play as hard early. We played hard in the second half, but it was a little bit too late.”

Dick’s 28-yard rushing touchdown on the following possession brought the Bulldogs back to within two scores with 3:44 left in the third.

Twigg left the game with an injury before Martinsburg stopped Morgantown on third-and-2 of its ensuing series, and the signal-caller was on the sideline for Morgantown’s next offensive possession, which yielded one first down courtesy of a roughing the punter penalty. After remaining on the sideline for Martinsburg’s third touchdown drive, Twigg returned to help his team hang on.

“The first time I went down, I did something to my shoulder,” Twigg said. ”Not really sure what it was. It’s been messing with me for the past couple weeks, but I’ve been battling through it, because we’re here and that’s all that mattered. I started cramping in both calves, but I had to go in. I had 5 minutes of football left. Who cares about cramping? I had to go in and battle through it.”

Twigg completed 7-of-17 passes for 181 yards and rushed 19 times for 135 yards, combining for 316 yards through the air and on the ground for a Morgantown team that totaled 306 yards.

Twigg was also the game’s leading tackler with 10.

“He has incredible athleticism, a will to win and he always wants the ball in his hands,” Biser said. “Not that I haven’t had any kids like that, but his athletic ability is at a little different level.”

Cooper had four receptions for 99 yards and George caught three passes for 82 yards.

Dick was 13-for-18 and passed for 177 yards. Todd was his top target and led all players with 11 receptions for 136 yards.

“He’s our best player. It’s a state championship game and you have to get the ball to your best guys,” Walker said.

Dick led all players with 26 carries for 95 yards in defeat.

“They’re the standard of football in the state of West Virginia,” Biser said of the Bulldogs. “Dave told me we’ll probably see you again and I thought we would, too. I didn’t know it would be here though. To be able to get the win, it really didn’t matter who it was against, but what a feat against these guys.”