Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
When Policy 3112: Board-Staff Communications was placed on the Pocahontas County Board of Education meeting agenda for January 6, it caused a lot of concern for staff and the community who saw the proposed policy taking open communication in the wrong direction.
The policy calls for all staff to follow the chain of command, which would have staff take their concerns through the chain of principal, board office director and then superintendent, who would then take the concern to the board members.
There were several individuals, including students, at the board meeting who voiced their dislike of the policy.
Pocahontas County High School LSIC member Josh Hardy and seniors Ramona Hardy and Joey Van Meter, who also served as student representative on the board, spoke about how they saw the policy as a way to cut communication instead of a way to help it improve.
Since the three individuals spoke during the delegation’s portion of the agenda, the board members could not respond or answer questions. Superintendent Dr. Leatha Williams did address the issue later in the meeting.
Williams said she had the proposed policy pulled from the agenda due to the concerns that arose but explained why she thought the policy was important.
“As your leader in the school system, I am committed to keeping Pocahontas County Schools on the right track and addressing issues stemming from the West Virginia Department of Education State of Emergency, including clarifying and enforcing chain of command, and establishing a communication structure that supports that,” she said.
“I am mindful of the distress our county has endured and have worked to ensure transparency and reporting on decision making in all things that I am doing,” she continued. “Those times of poor communication and lack of transparency are behind us. Together we are building a stronger system with common practices, clear communication, high expect- ations and policy driven decision making.”
With that said, Williams said she still expects the staff to follow the chain of command that has been in place when the policy was initially enacted in 2020.
“Please note, the proposed policy revision only changed one section,” she said. “If a staff member chooses to communicate directly with the board regarding county business, then that communication should be sent to all board members and the superintendent should be copied, as well.”
Since the policy was only up for revision, it will remain in place as it was written in 2020, but Williams said the revision will not be made at this time.
“Out of concern for the health of our county, I would remove this proposed revision from the agenda,” she said. “My goal is to unite our county and our school system. We will enforce chain of command, but we will not do it at the expense of the relationships and this policy – if it is that strongly felt about – we can remove it.”
In business management, the board approved the following:
• Second reading of Policy 5223: Absences for Religious Ordinances and Instruction.
• Second reading of Policy 7540.02: Digital Content and Accessibility.
• Fundraisers; out of county, out of state and overnight field trips; early retirement incentive of $500 for professional and service personnel; independent school audits by Education Consulting Team, LLC; and federal guidance to adjust standard mileage travel reimbursement from .70 to .725.
In personnel management, the board approved the following:
• Leave of absence of Christine Campbell as principal at Pocahontas County High School, effective December 17, through the remainder of 2025-2026 school year.
• Resignation due to retirement of Christine Campbell as principal at Pocahontas County High School, effective June 30, 2026.
• Employment of Jennifer Stewart as teacher of alternative education at Marlinton Middle School, pending successful background check.
• Resignation due to retirement of Kimberly Rao as secretary II/accountant II at Pocahontas County High School, effective December 31, 2025.
• Employment of Melissa Taylor as interim head coach for girls’ basketball at Green Bank Elementary-Middle School, for the remainder of the 2025-2026 school year.
• Employment of Rebecca Peteete as interim $1 coach for girls’ basketball at Green Bank Elementary-Middle School, for the remainder of the 2025-2026 school year.
• Employment of Patricia Plaugher as teacher for the 21st Century Grant after-school program at Green Bank Elementary-Middle School.
The next board meeting will be Tuesday, January 20, at 6 p.m., in the board of education conference room in Buckeye.
