Lewis County Schools Tn Employment
Chris Richard
Lewis County, located in southwestern Washington, is the sixth largest county in the state. The Chehalis and Cowlitz rivers are the two major rivers in the county. Lewis, named for Meriwether Lewis, was created as a county in 1845. Its original borders encompassed half of Washington state and British Columbia. The Chehalis and Meshall tribal people inhabited this area prior to white explorers and settlers, but their numbers were decimated by disease. Many of these settlers worked in the trading posts as well as the Hudson Bay commercial farm that provided the trading posts.
The 1920s brought hard times to Lewis before the Great Depression took hold. World War II increased the demand for wood and farm products, lifting the Lewis County economy again. Its economy has continued boom and bust cycles over its recent history, as noted below.
The Great Recession was difficult on the Lewis County economy, as nonfarm payrolls dropped, and double-digit unemployment rates were the rule rather than the exception. In 2014, payrolls started to increase from that downturn. Then in 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and payrolls dropped again. Nonfarm job growth stopped, and the unemployment rose sharply beginning in April. The year 2021 brought relief from the 2020 pandemic numbers as nonfarm employment and unemployment rates stabilized and began to turn the corner.
Average annual unemployment in Lewis County has been declining since the 13.3 percent rate posted in 2009. In 2020 that trend reversed, as the average annual unemployment rate rose from 6.3 percent in 2019 to a figure of 9.4 percent in 2020. The 2021 rate rebounded to mirror the 6.3 of 2019.
Since 2014, the labor force in the county has steadily grown, currently up over 4,200 above 2014 totals. This gain in the labor force may indicate a continued faith in the local economy as well as a more positive job market. Unemployment rates fought double digits for some of 2020, but 2021 saw a renewed labor market outlook and much more favorable rates.
The Local Employment Dynamics (LED) database, a joint project of state employment departments and the U.S. Census Bureau, matches state employment data with federal administrative data. Among the products is industry employment by age and gender. All workers covered by state unemployment insurance data are included; federal workers and non-covered workers, such as the self-employed, are not. Data are presented by place of work, not place of residence.
In 2020, the largest job holder age group in Lewis County was the 55 and older age category, making up 26.2 percent of employment across all industries. The next largest share was among people age 35 to 44 with 21.5 percent of employment.
Personal income includes earned income, investment income, and government payments such as Social Security and Veterans Benefits. Investment income includes income imputed from pension funds and from owning a home. Per capita personal income equals total personal income divided by the resident population.
When compared with the state, the Lewis County population is somewhat older, although it has a similar gender ratio. Far more residents identify themselves as white when compared to the state and most other groups represent a lower proportion of the county population compared to the state as well.
We opened our Lewis County office in 1994 and currently serve over 200 people in all our Lewis county programs and services. Contact our office in Lewis County with questions about our programs and to see if Morningside is right for you!
Our Individual Employment program is a statewide leader in providing employment services to adults with disabilities. Our goal is to give you the support you need to be an independent, contributing member in your community.
High School Transition Program is a team effort providing support and guidance as you prepare to transition from high school to the work place. Morningside staff will work with you, your parents, your school staff and counselors to help you identify your career interests and to build a plan to get you there.
The problem doesn't rest merely within the north central West Virginia school system. It's also having a major impact on the state's department of education, reaching all the way to the top and the office of West Virginia Superintendent of Schools David Roach.
LEA monitoring shows the county's noncompliance with ESSER spending on several fronts, including no-bid contracts, ineligible entertainment purchases, room rentals and employee reimbursements. It all adds up to more than $131,000.
Dr. Sara Lewis-Stankus was Upshur County's Superintendent of Schools during the period, when ESSER spending was examined. She left that job in August of last year when Roach hired her to be one of his two deputy state superintendents.
Sources within the West Virginia Department of Education provided Eyewitness News with an email from Roach to members of the state school board dated last Wednesday. Roach said after being briefed by his accountability team about the Upshur situation: "I decided to immediately suspend Dr. Stankus without pay through the remainder of her scheduled employment, June 30, 2023.
Sources tell Eyewitness News areas of concern they are expected to share include questionable payments to former superintendent Stankus and other Upshur County Schools employees using federal ESSER money, improper county financial oversight connected to travel, payroll and purchases, a problem compounded by insufficient county policies setting down clear spending directions and boundaries.
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