CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state Board of Education has approved two appointments to help the Lincoln County school system deal with several issues discovered in a recent state Department of Education review.
The state BOE put Lincoln County under a state of emergency last month. A several month review found deficiencies in leadership with the previous superintendent and assistant superintendent. The areas of most concern were finance, overtime, and transportation.
Following a recommendation from state School Superintendent Clayton Burch, the state Board of Education voted Wednesday to assign Terry Harless and Lynn Hurt to assist new Lincoln County School Superintendent Jeff Kelley.
Hurt has more than 30 years experience in education including 10 years as a central office administrator. She began her career as a classroom teacher and served two years as the Wayne County school superintendent.
Harless, a CPA, has spent 25 years in state government, while serving as the Chief Financial Officer for WVDE for 15 years. He has an extensive financial background and a working relationship with chief school business officers throughout the state.
State BOE member James Wilson credited the department with working with Lincoln County to clear up the problems instead of a full system take over.
“We really appreciate this way of helping counties as opposed to way it was seven years ago when we first started into this,” Wilson said. “It seems like a much, much better way to do it.”
State BOE President Miller Hall said it’s about support.
“We all are going to make mistakes. Sometimes they are really magnified and sometimes they are not,” he said.
Lincoln County has had a history of state takeovers of its school system. The state Department of Education controlled Lincoln County Schools for 12 years because of the local board’s influence on employment and personnel. The state board voted in December 2012 to return local control.