Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
At the February 18 Pocahontas County Board of Education meeting, superintendent Lynne Bostic shared the results of the West Virginia Department of Education’s Special Circumstance On-Site Review Report and the Declaration made by the West Virginia Board of Education regarding the state of emergency status of Pocahontas County Schools.
It was released on February 12 that the WVBOE declared a state of emergency at Pocahontas County High School and Bostic said she was in attendance at the meeting when the decision was made.
“They went into an executive session to discuss our report,” she said. “I was not included in the executive session. They came back and Superintendent [Michele] Blatt read the declaration.”
Before sharing the declaration, Bostic gave a bit of history about how the review transpired. Last spring, Bostic made a request to the WVDE to assist in reviewing the master schedule at PCHS to help inform staffing decisions.
In August 2024, the WVDE office of PK to 12 academic support personnel conducted training on Policy 2510 and master scheduling. It was during that training that concern arose regarding the school’s master schedule, grade transcription process and counseling program.
Bostic then asked the state to conduct a review of the school’s procedures, which led to the decision that was made last week.
Bostic read the declaration which is as follows:
“Having heard and considered the results of the Pocahontas County Schools Special Circumstance Review, I move that:
1) The WVBOE declares that a state of emergency exists in Pocahontas County Schools under W.Va. Code 18-2E-5(m)(2);
2) The WVBOE establish a six-month period for Pocahontas County Schools to correct identified deficiencies with prioritized support from the WVDE;
3) The WVDE Office of Special Education conduct a comprehensive monitoring and review to ensure all policies and procedures regarding the provision of special education services comply with state and federal regulations;
4) Pocahontas County Schools continues to investigate the unauthorized transcription of inaccurate credits and grades and take personnel action based on the results of the investigation;
5) Pocahontas County Schools contract a WVDE-approved consultant to provide support and build leadership capacity at the central office and schools;
6) The WVDE Office of School Finance conduct a comprehensive review of local accounting practices and financial transactions including, but not limited to, compliance with local procedures regarding employee contracts and stipends; and,
7) The WVBOE receive a six-month progress update from the WVDE and Pocahontas County Schools at the August 2025 meeting and take action based on the report including, but not limited to, an extension of the State of Emergency or immediate intervention in the operation of the Pocahontas County school system.”
Bostic then explained that any funding that goes toward the plan is at the cost of the county and will not be reimbursed by the state education department.
She added that she did not receive a copy of the review report until the day of the meeting when it was released to the public.
“Since you brought that up, I’m upset because all this stuff took place,” board member Frosty McNabb said. “We were elected by the citizens of the county to represent their children and do the best for them, and I have to find out off the street or off social media of this. That’s not right. We’re getting blamed for everything, and we don’t even know about it.”
McNabb added that all the board members have been getting calls from concerned parents and were not well enough informed to explain what was happening. Bostic told him to direct people to contact her directly with any of their concerns regarding the issue.
One of the problematic areas that arose in the study was the way transcripts were being entered and handled at PCHS. Assistant principal Chris Campbell and dean of students Casey Griffith gave an update on the transcripts issue and how the process was going in making changes.
Campbell explained that work began on fixing the transcripts before the review was done and continues to make progress.
Campbell and Griffith explained that the system in which they enter grades – WVEIS, West Virginia Education Information System – was upgraded and due to the upgrades, some of the transcripts had issues that are being fixed now.
“Let me clarify here,” Campbell said. “It’s not that their grades are incorrect. Those aren’t the revisions that need to be made. It’s what something was called and making sure that all those things are in place.”
The grades are entered as quality points, so if a student has a 95, it is entered as an A which has a point of 4. The points are then added and averaged to find the student’s grade point average.
With the way grades are done at PCHS, the students get half grades per semester. So, the first semester point and second semester point are added and averaged to find the final grade or point for that class.
Campbell explained those points were not entered incorrectly. What was incorrect were the codes for the classes the students were enrolled in. Those are being updated, but it takes time, and they are trying to find a way to make those changes by class instead of by individual student.
The board said parents are concerned about transcripts getting sent to colleges and asked if there is an issue with this now.
Griffith said she has been working with colleges and is making sure that the correct transcripts are sent for the students.
The board thanked both Campbell and Griffith for the update and their work on fixing the issue.
In financial management, the board approved: payment of vendor listing, payment of local government purchasing card, employee payroll, grant awards, schedule of revenues and expenditures on a cash basis and budget adjustments.
In miscellaneous management, the board approved the following:
• Pocahontas County Schools Management Representation Letter – Single Audit as of June 30, 2024, fee being $26,170.
• Contract with Deirdre Cline and the Pocahontas County Board of Education and the West Virginia Department of Education, effective February 18. Contract services expire June 30.
• Contract with Dodi Slaughter, counselor at the Fred W. Eberle Tech Center and Pocahontas County Board of Education as mentor for Casondra Griffith, dean of students, at Pocahontas County High School, effective February 19 through January 1, 2026.
• Pocahontas County Schools to place extracurricular physical education policy on public comment. This policy would allow students to earn one graduation requirement of physical education for two seasons of a WVSSAC approved activity.
• Justin Kerr, Jonathan Taylor and Sarah Cover to take approximately 20 students from Pocahontas County High School to Skills State Leadership and Skills Conference at Fairmont State College on March 27-29. Transportation will be provided by one bus.
• Courtney Curran to take four students from Pocahontas County High School Grow Your Own Project to the Grow Your Own and Milken Educators Symposium in Morgantown on April 7-8. Transportation will be provided by private vehicle.
• Andy Friel to take four students to WVU Reedsville Farm in Arthurdale March 7. Transportation provided by private vehicle.
• Rick McLaughlin and parents to transport three students to Philip Barbour High School for the Region 8 Middle School Honor Band February 21-22.
In personnel management, the board approved the following:
• Resignation of Erin Baldwin as English/language arts teacher at Green Bank Elementary-Middle School, effective February 18.
• Dillion Vandevandar as volunteer coach for the fifth-grade basketball team at Green Bank Elementary-Middle School, effective for the 2024-2025 athletic season.
• Allen Taylor as volunteer coach for the fourth-grade basketball team at Green Bank Elementary-Middle School, effective for the 2024-2025 athletic season.
• Todd Jones as volunteer coach for the fourth-grade basketball team at Green Bank Elementary-Middle School, effective for the 2024-2025 athletic season.
• Retirement of Virginia Calhoun, effective June 30.
• Jessica Jones as volunteer coach for the fourth and fifth grade basketball team at Hillsboro Elementary School, effective for the 2024-2025 athletic season.
• Doug Jones as volunteer assistant coach for the fourth and fifth grade basketball team at Hillsboro Elementary School, effective for the 2024-2025 athletic season.
• Nebraska Scotchie as volunteer assistant coach for the fourth and fifth grade basketball team at Hillsboro Elementary School, effective for the 2024-2025 athletic season.
• Unpaid medical leave for Erin Murphy at Marlinton Middle School, effective February 15, for a period of up to 12 weeks through May 20.
• Retirement of Diane L. Nelson, effective June 30.
• Requested transfer of Jeanette Wagner from teacher of special education/autism at Marlinton Middle School to teacher of CTE business management/administration at Pocahontas County High School, effective February, for 71 days for the remainder of the 2024-2025 school year and will be 200 days each year thereafter.
• Peter Monico as volunteer head golf coach for the Pocahontas County High School golf team for the 2024-2025 athletic season.
• Earl “Doug” Friel as volunteer assistant golf coach for the Pocahontas County High School golf team for the 2024-2025 athletic season.
• Employment of Karen O’Neil as head track coach for the boys and girls track teams at Pocahontas County High School, for the 2024-2025 athletic season, supplement being $1,125.
• Appointment of Christine Campbell as interim/ acting principal for Pocahontas County High School, beginning February 17.
• Resignation of Robert Jordan as custodian III, at Pocahontas County High School, effective February 13.
• Retirement of superintendent Lynne Bostic, effective June 30.
• Employment of Coty S. Rexrode as substitute school bus operator for Pocahontas County Schools, at state minimum professional salary for the 2024-2025 school year.
• Employment of Sherry Radcliff as substitute secretary/accountant, emergency only, for Pocahontas County Schools, at state minimum professional salary for the 2024-2025 school year.
