June WV Board of Education meeting overview

The West Virginia Professional Educators prepared the following summary of the West Virginia Board of Education Meeting on June 14.
Recognitions: Randal Reed-Smith, Commissioner of the West Virginia Division of Culture and History, introduced the 2023 History Bowl winners. Sherrard Middle School West Virginia History Bowl Team 1 captured this year’s state title, making them back-to-back Mountain State champions. Coached by Dan Gatts and Jeff Stephens, this year’s team consisted of Ella Finley, Allison McGraw, Sarah Naome, and Zoe Zervos.
School Safety Update: Jonah Adkins of the WVDE reported on the needed changes in scheduling of the Mingo County graduation ceremony due to the incident involving the death of Mingo State Trooper Cory Maynard, and all the safety precautions that took place. It was also reported that there are currently 170 School Resource officers hired across the state at a cost of $34 million. The three-month training for these positions takes place at the West Virginia State Police Academy.
Consent Agenda/Routine Business:
• Monongalia County Schools system was granted a one-year limited waiver for implementing a pilot program selling USDA-approved snacks during student lunch periods. The county will comply with all state and federal regulations and procedures while working with the WVDE Office of Child Nutrition
• Marshall University was given approval for the addition of a Clinical Teacher of Record program with Webster County as allowed in Policy 5100.
• All 2023 County Summer School programs have been submitted to the West Virginia Board of Education and have been approved.
• All county school systems and the West Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind have submitted and received approval for their 2023-2024 calendars.
• Policy 5202 was approved. This policy establishes requirements for licensure of educators. Revisions were made to reflect legislative changes along with restructuring and formatting changes.
• An update from the WV Schools for the Deaf and the Blind was received.
New Business:
• Kanawha County Board of Educations’ request to amend its 2020-2030 Comprehensive Educational Facilities Plan (CEFP) was approved. The project priority list includes changes approved by the county board of education: Marmet Elementary will close and consolidate into Chesapeake Elementary, Grandview Elementary will close and consolidate into Edgewood Elementary and Mary C. Snow Elementary, and George C. Weimer Elementary will close and consolidate into Alban Elementary and Bridgeview Elementary. Closures and consolidations of these schools were approved by the board.
• The Upshur County Schools Special Circumstance Review Report was given by Jeffrey Kelley, Office of Accountability, WVDE. He stated that the review team has uncovered dozens of spending issues with only about 1% of the documents reviewed. Kelley shared some of the initial findings with the state BOE Wednesday including 12 receipts of non-compliant spending for food and beverages, charges for staff retreats for Stonewall Resort for more than $49,000, another 14 receipts that include nearly $22,000 of food and beverage charges at a local restaurant, and a payment of $1,500 for a staff retreat at a Buckhannon B&B located six miles from the Upshur County Board of Education office. Also discovered were $75,000 in improper payments to staff not approved by the county board, and that some employees received payments in addition to their regular salary.
The state board approved an 18-point motion that includes declaring a state of emergency in Upshur County and appointing a new school superintendent. The local school board now has limited authority.
The following recommendations were approved and presented by the state board:
• Non-approval status for Upshur County school system.
• Declaration of a state of emergency.
• Limiting the authority of the county board of education while state of emergency is in place.
• Authority given to deputy state school superintendent to oversee Upshur County system.
• Declaring vacant the Upshur County superintendent’s office immediately.
• Appointment of former Preston County School Superintendent Stephen Wotring as new superintendent.
During the discussion, Superintendent Roach was asked to share a timeline of when he was informed of these non-compliances. Roach was then questioned by the board on why they weren’t informed of these concerns in a timely manner. The board also questioned the involvement of Deputy Superintendent Sarah Stankus in the investigation, including her inappropriate participation in a WVDE spending review meeting on Feb. 10, since she previously was the Upshur County Superintendent during the time when these violations took place. NOTE: Superintendent Roach terminated the employment of Dr. Stankus on May 12. Board President Paul Hardesty was very alarmed that the information on the Upshur County non-compliances had not been presented to the state board until late May 2023. The special Circumstance Review can be accessed online here:
https://wvde.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/27590-Upshur-County-Special-Circumstance-Review-v2.pdf
WVBE Evaluation of the State Superintendent of Schools, WVBE Attorney, and WVBE Secretary: The board entered into Executive Session to approve these annual evaluations. Upon returning from this session, it was reported that Superintendent Roach, hired in August of 2022, received a satisfactory rating.
NOTE: After adjournment of the meeting, later in the day, it was reported that Superintendent Roach submitted his resignation and retirement. On Friday, June 23, the State Board of Education accepted Roach’s resignation and appointed Michele Blatt as his replacement.
WVDE Reports:
• Literacy Update: WVDE Communications Director Christy Day reported progress on the Ready, Read, Write WVNumeracy Initiative. A new video on writing has been produced and is currently on the website at http://readyreadwritewv.com.
The next regular meeting of the WV State Board of Education will be held on Wednesday, July 12.