The West Virginia Department of Education has a new leader in Superintendent Jim Phares. However, the state Board of Education is still down two members.
Longtime members Jenny Phillips and Priscilla Haden resigned effective the first of the year over the board’s decision to fire former Superintendent Dr. Jorea Marple back in November.
Now it’s up to Governor Earl Ray Tomblin to fill those two open slots. Wade Linger, the President of the state Board of Education, believes the governor won’t wait long to name his appointments. Linger says the board has a lot of work to do.
“There’s a lot of things on the agenda, especially with the audit report coming out and our response to it,” says Linger. “Now is the time when we need all the brains in the room that we can get.”
Linger says on top of their response to the Governor’s Education Efficiency Audit, there’s now a House panel looking at the document. With the legislative session set to start on February 13th, the president says he hopes to meet the new members and get them up to speed as soon as possible.
But Linger adds he was sorry to see Phillips and Haden go.
“It’s always good to have difference of opinion so that you can talk things through. And for that reason I’m sad to see them leave the board. But at the same time, I’m looking forward to new opportunities with some new faces,” according to Linger.
Six of the current members on the board, including Linger, were appointed by former Governor Joe Manchin. Lloyd Jackson was appointed by Tomblin.