Kelley

CHARLESTON – Members of the West Virginia Board of Education were briefed Monday on ongoing efforts by the state Department of Education to turn around significant deficiencies in school systems in Upshur, Hampshire, and Logan counties.

During its monthly meeting in Charleston Monday morning, the state Board of Education heard reports from Jeffrey Kelley, the assistant state superintendent of schools for district and school accountability, regarding Department of Education interventions in Upshur and Logan counties, and a state of emergency in Hampshire County for its special education services.

The state board placed the Upshur County School system into a state of emergency last summer, placing the Upshur County Board of Education under the authority of the state board. That decision was after the release of a special circumstances review report on Upshur County Schools conducted by the Department of Education which looked at the operation of federal programs and spending at the county school system among other issues.

The special circumstances review found tens of thousands of COVID-19 relief funds used for staff retreats and food purchases, as well as the purchase of thousands of family passes for West Virginia State Wildlife Center in French Creek and Upshur County pools.

The review found misuse of state purchasing cards, improper reimbursements, federal funding being used for teacher and staff compensation at rates higher than normal rates, insufficient travel policies, and no-bid contracts. The review also found improper hiring of family members of county board of education staff, and payment of additional compensations for former Upshur County superintendent and former deputy state superintendent Sara Lewis-Stankus.

The state board received a six-month report on the progress at Upshur County in December 2023. Since then, Kelley said Upshur County has made significant progress, including discussions of school-based concerns, strategic planning, self-reflection, and the establishment of achievement goals.

The county also conducted a curriculum and resource audit, looking at ways to bolster academic efficiency by determining which teaching staff and what programs were necessary and what programs could be eliminated. The county also reviewed and updated internal policies and bylaws regarding finance decision-making, as well as restructuring of strategic planning processes.

“For any of you who have been involved in policy review, that is quite the chore and quite the achievement,” Kelley said.

Kelley also said Upshur County conducted its first principal evaluations since 2019. Addressing the issues in Upshur, Hampshire, and Logan counties, Kelley said all three schools shared a similar problem leading to the county interventions by state education officials.

“Decision makers set aside accountability to appease adults, to make adults happy, and they do so at the expense of student learning and what’s best for kids,” Kelley said. “That is the one consistent thing that I think existed in all three of those scenarios.”

Christy Miller, the superintendent of Upshur County Schools by appointment of the Department of Education last July, said much work has been done to put Upshur County Schools on a pathway to being removed from state intervention status.

“It’s been hard, it’s been emotional as you could well imagine, and yes, we’ve probably stepped toes over the last year, but…kids have to come first,” Miller said.

Logan County Schools have been under state intervention since 2022 after department officials discovered numerous issues. Hampshire County Schools has been under a state of emergency due to numerous issues with its special education programs since the end of 2023. Both school systems have shown improvements, though the board voted Monday to extend Hampshire County’s state of emergency by six months to further monitor improvements.