WINFIELD, W.Va. — Putnam County School Superintendent John Hudson has announced his retirement.
The announcement came during Monday night’s Putnam County Board of Education meeting.
Hudson has spent 42 years in education, the last 10 as Putnam County school chief. His last day will be June 30.
In the past decade, Putnam County voters have approved a pair of excess levies and voted in favor of a $50 million school construction bond. The state School Building Authority has already the county nearly $30 million for school construction projects.
“It has been an honor of a lifetime to serve Putnam County Schools,” Hudson said. “None of these accomplishments would have been possible without the support of our community and the tireless efforts of our board of education and staff. I am especially proud of our students, whose achievements continue to raise the bar for what is possible.”
In the past four years, Putnam County Schools has been the highest achieving school district in the state in both English Language Arts and Mathematics.
Hudson was previously school superintendent in Boone County for seven years before coming to Putnam County after the school year ended in 2016. He told MetroNews at the time, “My plans would be first of all to look at the system, and it is an awesome system, and continue to do what they’re doing, continue to hone in on those things and do them very well.”
The Putnam County BOE will be in charge of choosing Hudson’s replacement.
The next superintendent will be involved in building the new Hurricane Middle School. Hudson said the Putnam County BOE will authorize the new superintendent to have negotiations with construction companies about the project.
“I’m thinking it’s time,” Hudson said. “A lot of great things accomplished there in Putnam County, with the cooperation of the staff, the board of education, and the school community. Now is a really good time, a lot of good things have happened, and a lot of good things are still to come.”