Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
Several members of the community spoke at the May 26 Pocahontas County Board of Education meeting to share their concerns about the budget, misinformation and staffing decisions.
Fred and Bridget Koerber shared corrections to the coaching information that was provided at the last meeting. Bridget, who was the cheerleading coach, said that she did not have a paid assistant coach or a one-dollar coach actively serving in those positions.
Fred added that the salaries that were shared for assistant football coaches were incorrect. He said that for the 2024-2025 season, he and Matt Buzzard were paid, but Seth Doss was a volunteer.
For the 2025-2026 season, the Superintendent’s report stated that all three assistant coaches were paid $1,100, but Fred said he was not hired as an assistant coach.
Nathaniel Sizemore expressed his gratitude to the community for its overwhelming support for his family and said an anonymous donor made it possible for his two sons, who are homeschooled, to participate in the robotics team at Pocahontas County High School.
Sizemore also expressed his gratitude for the teachers and coaches in the county who go above and beyond for their students, adding that he hopes the teachers and coaches at the high school are included in the hiring process for the new principal.
Kristin Thomas spoke about a petition that has been circulated to remove superintendent Dr. Leatha Williams from her position and asked if the board members did any research into her job history before hiring her.
While the board cannot respond to delegations, board members can address the subjects mentioned during the matters from the board portion of the agenda.
Regarding Thomas and her question about the superintendent, board president Emery Grimes and board member Morgan McComb both stated they did look into the history of all the candidates for superintendent, with McComb saying he watched video of board meetings held in Williams’ previous county.
Grimes said the board was aware of all the things that happened – good and bad – in Williams’ career and stated the board hired her because she was the only candidate who stated firmly that she could fix what was wrong in the county school system.
Williams also spoke about the community’s concerns and gave a statement about how she helped the county get out from under a state of emergency at PCHS which was placed by the West Virginia Department of Education.
Since then, she has worked with the staff at all schools to help change the climate and make sure that things are running smoothly and effectively.
“Instability was a norm in the county and in our high school,” she said. “I share this because the inconsistency and chaos did not start this year and that culture does not disappear over-night. Long standing habits do not change instantly.”
While the state of emergency is gone, Williams said there is still a lot of work to be done and asks the community to be patient with the board as it continues to make corrections.
In updates:
• Director of Special Education Philip Anderson reported that the state provided information that the special education intervention is going well and that there are only 25 findings left to fix.
• Director of Attendance Julie Dunlap gave an update on the chronic absenteeism, stating that there has been an improvement in the number of students who have been chronically absent, but there is still some work to do to get the rest of the students back to school on a regular basis.
In miscellaneous management, the board approved:
• the 2026-2027 school year curriculum.
• for the director of finance/treasurer to make budget adjustments and pay invoices prior to board approved, effective June 16 through June 30.
• adoption of proposed 2026-2027 budget by BOE.
• permission to create and post for an itinerate county-wide assistant principal of athletics for Pocahontas County High School, Green Bank Elementary-Middle School and Marlinton Middle School.
• modification of the 2025-2026 calendar.
In personnel management, the board approved:
• Resignation of Kay Blackshire as substitute teacher for Pocahontas County Schools, for the 2026-2027 school year.
• Resignation of Fred H. Barlow as school security office for Pocahontas County Schools, effective May 1, 2026.
• Requested transfer of Sarah Brown as teacher of second grade at Marlinton Elementary School, effective for the 2026-2027 school year.
• Employment of Cammy Kesterson as site coordinator for the summer program at Green Bank Elementary-Middle School.
• Employment of Tina Tracy as site coordinator of the summer program at Marlinton Elementary School.
• Employment of Vada Boback as teacher of K-5 for summer program at Marlinton Elementary School.
• Resignation of Susan Armstrong, due to retirement, as ECCAT special education/classroom/bus aide Pre-K at Marlinton Elementary School, effective July 2.
• Requested personal leave of Owen Vogelsong, effective May 26 through June 5.
