SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. — BridgeValley Community and Technical College President Casey Sacks is going to work as a consultant with the U.S. Department of Education workforce issues for the next six months.
The BridgeValley Board of Governors has approved a resolution allowing for BOG Chairman Mark Blankenship to work with state Higher Education Chancellor Dr. Sarah Armstrong Tucker on an employment agreement that will allow for the move.
The resolution says a temporary contract will be drawn up to allow Sacks to “consult for the federal government with the Department of Education, Labor and Commerce on an executive order through December 2025.”
Sacks, who previously worked for the U.S. Department of Education before coming to BridgeValley, said it’s a great opportunity for herself and for BridgeValley.
“I have been honored by the federal government that they asked for my help with the executive order to look at workforce participation across the country,” Sacks told the BOG. “I think helping with the alignment of federal workforce programs is really going to help BridgeValley, will help West Virginia and will help the whole nation.”
WorkForce participation in West Virginia is one of the lowest in the country.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on April 23 called “Preparing Americans for High-Paying Skilled Trade Jobs of the Future”.
The state goal of the order is to reshape federal workforce development programs “that are too disconnected from propelling workers into secure, well-paying, and high-need American jobs.”
Sacks told the BOG she’s confident things will continue to run smooth on the BridgeValley campus in her absence.
“Our internal plans are to make this next six months the lease disruptive to the college as possible,” Sacks said. “We’re just really lucky at BridgeValley to have a strong team and have an excellent faculty in place to make sure this is all possible.”