This video is an audio recording of the Pocahontas County Schools Board of Education Meeting held on June 16, 2026.
Here is a comprehensive, chronological summary and outline of the transcript:
Meeting Open & Attendance [00:00]
Call to Order: The meeting is called to order by the Board President.
Attendance: All members are noted as present except for Mr. McNab.
The Pledge of Allegiance is recited by the board and attendees.
Public Delegation & Principal Hiring Committee Debate [00:36]
Faculty Request [00:44]: Alex Hmel, President of the Pocahontas County High School (PCHS) Faculty Senate, addresses the board. He notes that the faculty senate voted on April 6th and reached out via email on May 22nd to request that staff representatives (such as Faculty Senate leadership, the CTE department, or a hiring committee chair) be included in the interview process for the vacant PCHS principal position.
Superintendent’s Response [02:48]: Superintendent Dr. Williams explicitly denies the request to include school staff on the principal hiring committee. He cites state Policy 5000, noting that while policy allows faculty senate committees to select teachers who work in their school, selecting school-wide leadership is one of the primary statutory responsibilities of the superintendent. He adds that directors at the central office will assist collaboratively, but having staff interview five total candidates would be unfair to outside applicants and is not a practice he intends to establish ("it won't be a situation where the school picks their boss").
School Improvement & Special Education Compliance Updates [03:46]
Agenda Items: The board skips over the iReady final assessment and attendance updates due to a lack of internet in the room and the attendance director's absence.
Special Education Compliance [04:25]: Mr. Anderson, the Special Education Director, gives an update regarding an ongoing special circumstance compliance review. Correction of compliance indicators is due July 11, 2026.
Findings [06:05]: Issues involve tracking "specially designed instruction" lesson plans, verifying timelines, and ensuring parent notices are sent properly. Mr. Anderson notes that two years prior, the county had severe compliance issues (such as 0% compliance on prior written notices and 89% non-compliance on pulled IEPs).
Current Status [10:04]: The district is working through master schedule co-alignments to correct past frowned-upon practices (e.g., servicing special education kids only 4 out of 5 days). The superintendent estimates the county is currently about 75% of the way toward full compliance and moving in the right direction ahead of a full review next year.
Consent Agenda & Minutes Omission Dispute [13:05]
Motion & Dispute [13:53]: Board member Mr. Gibson challenges the approval of the meeting minutes from the April 28, 2026 meeting. He states that a member of the public, Joseph Van Meter, came forward and made statements that were entirely omitted from the record.
Clarification & Vote [14:50]: It is clarified that because the individual was not on the formal "delegation" docket, his comments were not transcribed into the official minutes.
Separation of Votes [15:32]: Mr. Gibson requests to vote against the minutes but approve the remainder of the consent agenda items (payroll, vendor bills totaling $89,882.34, etc.).
Personnel Matters & Central Office Budget Conflict [16:02]
Recommendations Read [16:22]: Recommendations include hiring Chloe Schoffner as Director of Personnel/Fiscal Central Office (effective July 1, 2026), several CTE/special education teacher positions, and Michael McWilliams as Assistant Principal/Athletic Director for countywide secondary schools.
Gibson’s Objection [20:03]: Board Member Mr. Gibson launches into an open objection regarding central office personnel spending. He argues that creating a full-time, $100,000 countywide Assistant Principal/Athletic Director position is a "knee-jerk decision" born from an unresolved personnel issue from February, which ballooned a $6,000 stipend into a $100,000 position. He suggests freezing or eliminating the central office Personnel Director position to save money and forcing the superintendent to take on those duties.
Failed Motion to Table [23:55]: Mr. Gibson makes a motion to delete/table the Assistant Principal/Athletic Director position until an ongoing dispute involving a "Mr. Corber" is resolved, and to freeze the hiring of the personnel director. The motion dies for a lack of a second [25:14].
Separated Personnel Vote [26:12]: Mr. Gibson then moves to separate the hiring of Chloe Schoffner and Michael McWilliams from the rest of the personnel docket.
Old Business: Superintendent's Permission to Hire [27:13]
Timeline [27:35]: The board debates giving the superintendent extended capacity to hire incoming college graduates over the summer months before other counties take them. The board sets an expiration date of October 23rd for this hiring window.
Mr. Gibson opposes the motion, stating they are meeting five times a month anyway and don't need to make "middle of the night" hiring decisions. The motion passes 3-to-1 [28:40].
CCWV School-Based Health Center Presentation [30:12]
Presentation [30:43]: Rachel Taylor (PA, 13 years in the district) and Kayla Lester (PA/DMS, 3 years at Marlinton) present on behalf of Community Care of West Virginia (CCWV).
Operations & Statistics [32:37]: They detail their weekly service schedules traveling between Marlinton Elementary/Middle, PCHS, and Greenbank.
CCWV provides these services at no cost to Pocahontas County Schools, absorbing an organizational annual loss of roughly $1 million across their 45 school-based sites statewide [33:27].
They boast an 86% student enrollment rate at their county sites and serve 50% to 70% of school staff.
This school year featured 248 student visits, 306 well-child exams, 357 adult visits, and 218 immunizations [34:32].
Nurse Interface [39:18]: They confirm they maintain a collaborative, bi-directional referral system with school nurse "Nurse Jenny" to coordinate care when providers are off-site.
New Business & 261-Day Contract Vacation Conflict [40:31]
General Approvals [40:41]: The board approves various administrative contracts (WVU Extension match, ASAP fire alarm inspection, psycho-educational services, and Solution Tree professional development blocks). The Hope Scholarship policy revision is tabled [42:38].
Vacation Carry-Over Debate (Item J) [43:52]: Mr. Gibson asks for clarification regarding Item J (allowing 261-day employees to carry over or be paid for up to 10 earned vacation days).
Dr. Williams explains that a policy passed earlier in the year ensures year-round personnel (like head custodians) do not lose their earned vacation time when they agree to stay and work through heavy summer operational demands. Mr. Gibson expresses frustration at a lack of clear numbers regarding the overall budgetary impact.
The 261-day carry-over request passes 3-to-1, with Mr. Gibson voting 'no' [47:58].
Superintendent's General Updates [48:05]
County Nurse Staffing Comparison [48:52]: Dr. Cons shares a comparative spreadsheet tracking Pocahontas County's nursing metrics alongside 12 geographically similar West Virginia school districts.
Pocahontas County operates with 1 RN and 3 LPN aides (4 total) for 848 students.
This gives the district an excellent 1-to-212 nurse-to-pupil ratio, putting them well within compliance with WV Code 18-5-22 (which mandates 1 nurse per 1,500 students in grades K–7).
The county's total nurse salary spending sits around $171,000 annually. Additionally, 29 service personnel (secretaries and aides) have been trained and certified to handle minor medication administration [54:05].
Early Re-entry Process [01:00:10]: The superintendent introduces a newly drafted "Student Success Agreement" early re-entry form for expelled students. He clarifies that students under mandatory state 365-day expulsions ("shalls") cannot legally use this form, but discretionary board-expelled students can use it to establish intervention plans, behavior check-ins, and clear boundaries for returning to the classroom.
Closing Board Remarks & Adjournment [01:04:41]
Mr. Gibson’s Closing Comments [01:04:51]: Mr. Gibson reiterates strong grievances with the governance process. He criticizes what he describes as "last-minute, knee-jerk decision-making" regarding the 261-day vacation payouts and the PCHS principal hiring process. He demands a more collaborative, information-based approach, and expresses deep concern over the mounting, unresolved legal/personnel investigation costs that began back in February [01:07:39].
Adjournment [01:08:34]: The next special meeting is announced for June 25, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. at the Board of Education conference room. The meeting is adjourned.
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