Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
Social media is a great tool when it is used properly and in a positive manner.
When the Pocahontas County Board of Education meeting agendas are posted, they are now readily available to anyone who has a Facebook page.
The public can review the agenda and be aware of what the board members will be discussing at a particular meeting.
Social media can also be an easy way to mix up information and make assumptions based on opinion. When the agenda for the January 20 meeting was posted, one item caused an uproar among some parents and students in the community.
The item called for the abolishment of eight positions – four at Pocahontas County High School; three at Green Bank Elementary-Middle School; and one at Hillsboro Elementary School.
No explanation was given on the agenda, which is normal, but speculation ran rampant about why the positions were being abolished and what it would mean for the schools next year.
At the beginning of the meeting that Tuesday night, board president Emery Grimes shared his feelings regarding the social media posts that came out concerning the abolishment.
“I can tell you this, the last year and a half, along with [superintendent] Dr. Leatha Williams, we have worked diligently to put this Pocahontas County Board of Education back on track,” he said. “We have made numerous trips to Charleston, had meetings with the state education department, went in front of the state board of education and hopefully, hopefully, in February, we will get released from that.
“But it’s hard to do whenever we come back to Pocahontas County and everybody’s telling us what a bad job we’re doing and how we shouldn’t be doing things that have been recommended by the state,” he continued. “We have to do that. The positions that you’re seeing that are going to be abolished tonight, there’s no steady teachers in those positions. We’re not cutting any AP classes.”
Grimes was referring to the State of Emergency status that Pocahontas County Schools, particularly Pocahontas County High School, was placed under by the West Virginia Department of Education in July 2025.
In February, Williams and Grimes will give a report to the state education department and if it is satisfied with the progress and changes that have been made, the status will be lifted.
For the past six months, the board has been making changes at PCHS and learning about inconsistencies and improperly executed duties that led to the State of Emergency.
Grimes specifically referred to a comment posted on Facebook that allegedly stated that the county would be better off if the state department did take over the county schools and he explained what that situation would look like.
“Let me tell you a little bit about what happens if the state takes us over,” he said. “We’ll have one school, located somewhere probably around Pocahontas County High School. It’s going to be hard to look at that little kindergartener coming off Caesar Mountain at 6 a.m. or 5:30 a.m. in the morning or on top of Pendleton County and tell them they’ve got to get on a bus and ride to the high school.
“That’s what you’re up against,” he continued. “We need to really work hard to keep this school system in our hands.”
After Grimes spoke, the floor was opened to public input. Amy Morgan and her son, Rufus, expressed their concerns about cuts to staff at GBEMS; Josh Hardy and his daughter, Willa, as well as Joey Van Meter, shared their concerns about cuts at PCHS.
Once they were finished with their statements, Williams addressed their concerns and explained why the positions were on the agenda to be abolished.
She explained that at GBEMS, the assistant principal position was funded by a School Improvement grant, which has now ended. She added that the counselor positions at GBEMS and PCHS have both been posted several times and there have been no qualified applicants up to this time.
To address the counseling concern at PCHS, she said she will be creating and posting a position for a graduation coach. This position does not require the same certifications as a counselor but can do almost all that a counselor does.
Williams continued, saying that the other positions at PCHS – English/language arts, social studies and business management teachers – were added to the list because of the class sizes.
“When we look at our teachers – good practice is to look at your class enrollment size and really, our class enrollment should be at least ten to fifteen students,” she said. “We have multiple class periods that have five students, seven students, three students. So, we have some flexibility in our schedule as we look at it right now.”
One of the concerns shared online was about losing AP courses, which Williams assured everyone will not happen.
“In no way, shape, form or fashion are we cutting any AP coursework,” she said. “If we’re going to do anything for our high school students, we’re going to add dual credit college coursework which they haven’t had the opportunity to participate in in the past.”
Williams said she recommended cutting these positions prior to personnel season because she didn’t want to be stuck in the same configuration for the 2026-2027 school year. With taking them out of the equation now, she can now look at enrollment and decide what can be done for next school year.
“These positions are not going away forever,” she said, “but we need to look at how we can better utilize those positions. They may come back as an English teacher. They may come back as an English and a social studies combined teacher. There’s a variety of ways to look at it.”
Those positions at the high school were selected because they have not had a certified person in place, in some cases, for two years now. While the long-term substitute teachers have done their best, Williams said her goal is to have certified and qualified teachers in all positions.
Williams added that she has to take into consideration the school budget. The school aid formula, which was enacted by the West Virginia Legislature, sees county school systems receive funding for at least 1,400 students – whether they have that number or not.
Pocahontas County has been receiving funding for 1,400 students and hasn’t had that many students enrolled in years. The county has seen a steady decline in student population and is now down to 833 students.
Williams said the legislature is currently discussing a bill that will change the state aid formula to 1,200 students. If this is passed, Pocahontas County will lose $1.8 million dollars out of its staffing budget.
“I do not believe that the 1,400 funding for our county will be a continued luxury in the years to come,” she said. “So, we must manage our personnel as it impacts our budget. Personnel consume eighty percent of any school system’s budget, so it must align with student enrollment.”
When the board reached the portion of the agenda to vote on the abolishments, they were included in a list of several items. Board member Sam Gibson asked for the eight positions to be pulled and voted on separately.
Gibson shared his feelings concerning the positions and said he thought the issue was addressed in the wrong manner and said it was too soon to vote on getting rid of that many positions.
Gibson referred to another item on the agenda concerning the hiring of a school security officer and he asked why it was so important to have a security officer and said he would rather the funding for that position go toward a teaching position.
After sharing his opinion, Gibson made a motion to have Williams compile information concerning how much money the school system would save with the abolishment of the positions, how much all the current 261-day contracted employees’ salaries are and how many level three and four offenses have taken place at PCHS, as well as how many times the police have been called to respond to an incident at the high school.
The motion died on the floor for lack of a second.
The board then voted on the abolishment of the eight positions. It passed 4-1 with Gibson voting against.
In special recognitions:
• Williams announced the soccer players who were named to the All-State teams. In boys soccer, Wade Garber made the first team; Tristen O’Steen made second team and Kaden Wayne, Quincy Sharp and Luke Taylor received honorable mention.
In girls soccer, Shayla Bennett and Ramona Hardy made the second team and Riley Cassell, Chloe Annett and Allyson Taylor received honorable mention.
• Williams and director of attendance Julie Dunlap also recognized employees who have had perfect attendance for the first nine weeks.
They are Stephanie Ames, Kristin Baer, Katie Broce, Joanna Burt-Kinderman, Samantha Feather, Andrew Friel, JoAutumn Goldizen, Kristi Hamons, Carrie Hickman, Melissa Hill-Doss, Alexandyr Hummel, Kimberly Jordan, Melissa Jordan, Sabrina Jordan, Joseph Judy, Justin Kerr, Karen Lockhart, Jessica McNabb, Jessica Oxier, Carolyn Pennington, Chloe Schaffner, Larry Sharp, Leah Shinaberry, Kimberly Faliaferro and Treston Taylor.
In miscellaneous management, the board approved the following:
• Final reading of Policy 5223: Absences for Religious Ordinances and Instruction and Policy 7540.02: Digital Content and Accessibility.
• Fundraisers and out of county, out of state and overnight field trips.
• To post a media specialist position for the 21st Century Grant Program.
• To abolish the following positions for the 2026-2027 school year: teacher of English/language arts, teacher of social studies, teacher of business management and counselor, all at Pocahontas County High School; counselor, assistant principal and teacher of fourth grade, all at Green Bank Elementary-Middle School; and teacher of special education/multi subjects at Hillsboro Elementary School.
In personnel management, the board approved the following:
• Employment of Fred Herbert Barlow as itinerant school security officer at Pocahontas County Schools, effective January 21, 2026.
• Employment of Ron Hall as administrative substitute for Pocahontas County Schools, effective upon successful background check.
• Employment of Sarah Eves as substitute teacher for Pocahontas County Schools, at state basic professional salary, for the 2025-2026 school year, as needed.
• Unpaid medical leave of Daryl Shinaberry, effective January 2, for a period of up to 12 weeks.
• Unpaid medical leave of Michelle Rose, effective February 23, for a period of up to 12 weeks.
• Personal leave of James Chaney, effective January 12, for a period of up to 12 weeks.
The next board meeting will be Tuesday, February 3, at 6 p.m., at the Pocahontas County board office in Buckeye.
