Logan County Schools Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

State Board Of Ed. Reviews Local School Takeovers, Elects New Leadership

Much of the West Virginia Board of Education’s Monday morning meeting was spent hearing updates on three of the state interventions into local school systems.

Four of the state’s county school systems are currently under state control, and much of the West Virginia Board of Education’s Monday morning meeting was spent hearing updates on three of the state interventions into local school systems.

Local School Takeovers Update

Logan County Schools has been under state control since the fall of 2022 after a report from the Department of Education’s Office of Support and Accountability found 46 points of non-compliance in the school system ranging from failing to post meeting agendas, to improper use of county funds.

Upshur County Schools began their intervention a year ago in June 2023 after a “special circumstances” review revealed tens of thousands of dollars in misspent federal funds, among other financial misappropriations.

It was reported that county policies have been reviewed to correct and improve practices including overtime pay policies and more than $800,000 in federal and state funds have been repaid.

Hampshire County Schools Special Education Services was most recently placed under a state of emergency in November 2023.

Board President Paul Hardesty said Hampshire’s special education program was not alone across the state’s 55 counties in facing issues.

“I wish some of them would come to us and call us and say hey, we got a problem.” he said. “We’re having problems, come and help us – rather than wait until after the fact [when] we come in to do our reviews.”

Jeff Kelley, officer of educational accountability for the Department of Education, reported that all three school systems are improving. But he said near the end of the meeting that there is no specific timeline for intervention to end.

“You don’t check off a set of boxes and then hand the keys back,” Kelley said. “It’s not the way it works. If things are better in the current construct, why are you trying to get out of it? I don’t think intervention’s necessarily a bad thing.”

Kelley reflected that many of the state’s recent interventions have come from what he saw as decision makers setting aside accountability to appease adults.

“They do so at the expense of student learning and what’s best for kids,” he said. “What I know about these folks that are involved, is they’re not gonna put adult happiness ahead of student achievement and student learning, they’re not going to do that, we need to be proud of the work they’re doing.”

The board placed Martinsburg North Middle School in Berkeley County under a state of emergency in May.

New Leadership

The board also voted on its new leadership, with member Nancy White becoming the new president. White previously held the position of vice president of the board and has served on the board since 2018 when she was appointed to fill an unexpired term. She was reappointed in January 2023.

“I am humbled to be elected as president of the West Virginia Board of Education,” White said. “This board is dedicated to the education of children in our public schools and the advancement of education to support our state’s economy and future. We have worked earnestly to represent our education community and the critical work that occurs every day at the hands of our educators and administrators. It is a privilege to continue to serve my state because the work ahead of us is so very important.”

Victor Gabriel was elected to vice president, and after the restructuring of offices F. Scott Rotruck was elected as secretary. Hardesty, who served as board president for the past two years, will move to the newly created position of legislative liaison.

The board holds elections each July to elect or re-elect officers. President White may serve two consecutive one-year terms as President.

Child Dies In Logan County Walking To Bus Stop

The Logan County Sheriff’s Office confirmed, in a press release, that a middle school student was hit and killed by a vehicle this morning just before 7 a.m. in West Logan.

The youth, who was not identified, was pronounced dead upon arrival at the Logan Regional Medical Center.

The driver of the vehicle told deputies they were unable to see the child while turning from 11th Street from Route 10.

In a letter to the community Jeff Huffman, superintendent of Logan County Schools, said “There is no greater tragedy than the death of a young person.”

The letter goes on to say counselors have been available at Logan Middle School throughout the day, and will remain in place for as long as necessary, as the community pulls together to process what has happened.

The incident is still under investigation.

State Board Of Education Hears Reports On County Investigations, Confirms Leadership

Michele Blatt was sworn in as the new state superintendent of schools, and the board heard updates on two school systems under state control.

The July 12 meeting of the West Virginia Board of Education opened and closed with administrative procedures.

Michele Blatt was sworn in as the new state superintendent of schools. She thanked the board members for their confidence in her taking the position.

“I just know that with the support I have from the board, along with my colleagues across the state, that we’re going to be able to do great things for West Virginia,” Blatt said.

Then, the board heard updates on two school systems under state control. Logan County Schools was placed under state control last October, while Upshur County Schools became the latest system to be placed under state control in June.

Both school systems were taken over after investigations by the West Virginia Department of Education discovered financial misconduct.

Jeffrey Kelley, accountability officer for the West Virginia Department of Education, said the review is ongoing with department staff onsite regularly. He said they have been in contact with representatives of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia, as well as the U.S. Department of Education’s inspector general and the West Virginia State Police.

“Also, our office of child nutrition has begun an inspection of nutrition in Upshur County,” Kelley said.

It was also reported that the investigation had discovered more than $1 million in staff overtime expenses. Kelley said in the future the state needs to be able to identify these issues sooner.

“Having processes in place where these red flags go off sooner as opposed to later,” he said. “Basically, we need a stress test for counties in all areas, and I thought that was an appropriate term for what we’re looking to do.”

Kelley said updates to the existing accountability system for schools, known as Policy 2322, are already being discussed.

The final item on the board’s agenda was the election of the West Virginia Board of Education officers.

President Paul Hardesty, Vice President Nancy White and Financial Officer Scott Rotruck were all nominated without contest.

“I will therefore announce that the slate of officers nominated by Mr. Dunlevy are elected by acclamation,” Hardesty said.

Justice Comments on State Takeover Of County Schools

Gov. Jim Justice made a brief comment on the state takeover of Logan County schools during his COVID-19 briefing Friday.

With none of his usual advisors on the call, Justice was alone for his Friday COVID-19 briefing, and he took the opportunity to comment on two of the constitutional amendments on the ballot of the Nov. 8 election.

Justice has been touring the state in opposition to Amendment 2.

In response to a question about the takeover of Logan County Schools by the state Board of Education, Justice conceded that Amendment 4 could allow the legislature to reverse such actions.

“If Amendment four passes and everything, the legislature is going to have oversight, maybe could prevent this from happening or overturn whatever it may be,” Justice said. “That’s surely a concern also.”

Justice expressed concern at the situation in Logan County and said work would continue to get to the bottom of it.

State Board Of Education Takes Over Logan County Schools

The West Virginia Board of Education is taking over Logan County Schools after a special circumstances review of the district last month.

Control of the day-to-day operations of the Logan County school system, as well as county board operations, will fall under the authority of the West Virginia Board of Education and the State Superintendent of Schools effective Thursday evening.

The decision comes after a report from the Department of Education’s Office of Support and Accountability found 46 points of non-compliance in the school system ranging from failing to post meeting agendas, to improper use of county funds.

The special review found multiple points of non-compliance related to purchasing, including improper overtime procedures, misuse of federal program funds and grant writing.

“There’s a specific entity that has been contracted to write grants and they have a contract with the district but have not provided any grant funds to date,” review leader and Office of Support and Accountability Coordinator Alexandra Criner said.

Criner detailed the findings to the state Board of Education during a special meeting Thursday morning, including allegations of intimidation of school system administrators, educators and staff.

“When we asked about intimidation, one board member did make the statement that people who are in entry level positions should feel intimidated by their superiors to a certain extent,” she said.

An entire section of the report focuses on Logan County Schools’ contracting of Heritage Educational Services to provide virtual school instruction. The contract is the source of seven instances of non-compliance ranging from student personally identifiable information being improperly shared, to a removal of special education services.

“Interviews with special education staff indicated when a parent chooses to enroll their child in virtual school, all direct special education services are removed,” Criner said. “Special education teachers reported that they have been unable to make contact with regard to providing services for those Logan County students who have chosen virtual education.”

Criner highlighted the findings around special education as, “very troubling to the team.”

State Superintendent David Roach made 20 recommendations to the board outlining the structure and procedure for the takeover. The board approved the recommendations unanimously, which included the appointment of Jeff Huffman to be the interim Superintendent of Logan County Schools.

Huffman previously served as superintendent of Boone County Schools.

In concluding the special meeting, board president L. Paul Hardesty, a native of Logan County, expressed embarrassment at the situation.

“But it’s not about me today, it’s not about me at all,” Hardesty said. “It’s about the 5,000 plus children and almost 800 employees that comprise Logan County Schools. It’s about them today. I am truly sorry that the school system is in this situation. Again.”

This is not the first time the state has taken control of Logan County Schools, which in 1992 became the first local school system to be taken over by the state board of education.

W.Va. BOE: Logan Co. Schools in Jeopardy of Takeover

The West Virginia Board of Education has put Logan County Schools on alert. The county is in jeopardy of state takeover if they can’t turn things around before January of next year.

The vote by state board members came after a detailed audit of the county school system by the state Department of Education’s Office of Education Performance Audits. In that report, the OEPA found mishandlings of personnel matters, finances and failures in curriculum.
Personnel:

In July 2013, Logan County’s Superintendent Phyllis Doty hired Robert Lucas, then principal at Logan High School, to step in as assistant superintendent in charge of personnel. The OEPA audit team found he was very cooperative while conducting their report, but Lucas appeared to have little to no training in personnel matters and was relying on the former personnel secretary for advice on how to perform his duties. The report stated Lucas did not have access to a West Virginia Schools Law book to reference, something the audit team called necessary for the job.

“When we were there in January, the personnel director did not have a law book. He still didn’t have one when we were there in April,” Dr. Gus Penix told the state board when delivering the audit report, “and it’s essential that that person have a law book to reference when making decisions.”

Finances:

The audit said Logan County schools were not lacking in funds, in fact the county has a surplus due to their excess levy. Instead, the report showed the county was not following state purchasing procedures, often misdating reports causing them to be out of order. The county has issues with paying for services from county employees by check instead of through the payroll office and hiring teachers or family members for work.

“We have a document that is page after page after page of things that were financially misappropriated or disappeared,” Dr. William White, state board member, told Logan County Superintendent Phyllis Doty.

“I think your leadership, your staff and your board need to sit down and look at it from a broader perspective.”

Curriculum:

Graduation rates in Logan County have dropped by three percent over the past three years while state rates have steadily increased. Of the 60 percent of graduates who go on to college, 34 percent were enrolled in developmental English while 47 percent were enrolled in development math, both numbers nearly double the state average.

The audit called the distribution of technology infrastructure throughout the county a success, but said teachers were not properly trained on how to use it. Instead of using SmartBoards as they’re designed, interactive boards ranging in prince from $1-7,000, the audit team witnessed teachers using them as projector screens.

Board member Wade Linger pointed to a lack of leadership as a major factor in the county’s troubles. The county superintendent has been in her position for less than a year and the audit called the county board of education “dysfunctional” and board meetings “unproductive and inconsistent with following state code and WVBOE policies.”

Penix noted there were many examples of meetings during which Logan board members were in executive session for hours longer than in an open meeting.

The audit also noted a situation, confirmed by three board members, in which a Logan County Board member directed the superintendent to call and offer a job to an applicant during an executive session.

The latest audit, conducted in April, is the second the OEPA has performed in the county this year. After the first in January, the audit team left suggestions for ways to correct current mishandlings, but when they returned a few months later found little to no progress.

“It does not appear Logan County takes recommendations very seriously,” said state Board President Gayle Manchin at the meeting Wednesday.

The state board voted unanimously to give the county until January 15, 2015, to align with the OEPA suggestions before considering taking over the county.

Should the state board choose to do so, it would be the second state takeover in the county’s recent history. Logan County was the first county school system in which the state intervened, dating back to 1992.