CHARLESTON, W.Va. — State Board of Education President Mike Green asked Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin for another vote on the Fayette County facilities plan nixed by the School Building Authority.
On Monday, the SBA declined the Fayette County plan, which would have closed six schools, created a new elementary school, turned Oak Hill High School into a middle school, and created a new county-wide high school in the Oak Hill area.
Part of the letter suggests that the School Building Authority did not have the authority to reject the Fayette County plan on the basis of merit, only on the basis of proper procedure.
“The SBA effectively took on the role of a super board of education and, without the benefit of all the public debate and input, simply determined it knew more than the State Board that submitted the amendment. Such an action is beyond the statute and beyond the notice provided in the SBA agenda.”
The SBA cited concerns with a lack of local funding to accompany the Fayette County proposal, but Fayette County School Superintendent Terry George said the county had pledged $17 million in local funding.
Green’s letter also argues that the School Building Authority acted outside of it’s own boundaries in this vote because Fayette County followed all proper procedures.
The letter continues:
“Yesterday’s SBA meeting crossed the threshold of open government compliance when members transitioned a perfunctory consent agenda item into a substantive and official action in direct contradiction of West Virginia law and Ethics Commission Opinion 2007-12, which holds that “each member of a governing body must exercise due care to insure that asking questions of staff or speakers does not transition from the domain of obtaining relevant information into dialogue among the members regarding the merits of a matter on which the Board may reasonably expect to take official action.”
Superintendent Terry George told WVMetroNews on Tuesday he believed the SBA’s decision to vote against the Fayette County Plan without letting them even hold a presentation was unprecedented.
The State Board of Education voted to adopt the Fayette County plan by a 6-3 vote earlier this month.