……..The dust has settled with the reduction in force in Hancock County. Those employed in the system tell us the number of staff RFD far exceeds those 143 we were originally told. That number is said to be over 200. We shouldn’t be relying on the grapevine for our information. Superintendent Walt Saunders should be updating us on a regular basis as to how many were RFD and why it so far exceeded the original numbers.
………Saunders updated the WV School Board on the situation in Hancock County and he painted a pretty rosy picture on how we were accepting the cuts. That scenario is contrary to the one I and many others heard about. He told a sobbing teacher to get herself composed before she left his office and went back to her classroom. If these cuts must be done then they need to be done with empathy.
……We hear Erin Harvey has been selected to fill Joe Campinelli’s position. Harvey has been filling the position on an interim basis and had she not gotten the treasurer’s position she would have been out of a job. The job she had been performing before she stepped up to help out was eliminated. Harvey is a resident of Hancock County who previously worked at asst. magistrate clerk. Her husband, Matt, a former deputy, is now a magistrate. Congratulations to Erin who not only is a hard worker, but a pleasure to deal with. She exemplifies “grace under fire.”
……..The Personnel position is still vacant. Those duties were fulfilled by former assistant superintendent Dave Smith. I’m hearing that many internal candidates have applied.
……Lack of transparency fuels the rumor mill and the State needs to step up their game in informing the school community about the number RFD and how many per school. The numbers also trigger the need to submit a WARN notice to the State. That in turn triggers the Rapid Response Team to come on site to assist those who have been let go on in their job search and inform them of available resources to aid the unemployed.
An auditor from the State Auditor’s office was in Hancock County this week to interview members of the Hancock County Board of Education. One Board member said the auditor was astonished that the members had never seen the financials presented to them. I’m looking for the Auditor’s Office to discover a great deal more has been covered up and I’m hoping that triggers a forensic audit. (Or, that may be a forensic audit.)
…….The similar situation in 2007 was when Sue Smith took the helm as Superintendent in July only to discover that Hancock County was over 700,000.00 in the red. I looked back through minutes and newspaper coverage and it was handled very quietly. Campinelli was the treasurer at the time.
……When I was a little girl sitting in this very same spot writing, I wrote my version of Nancy Drew (Carla Troy was my heroine in case you’re interested). I not only wanted to be a journalist, but longed to be a detective. This school board fiasco certainly qualifies as a mystery, but I missed my goal with Nancy Drew. Now, I see myself as “Miss Marple” and may have to take up knitting when I lurk around corners trying to get information,
……..Why am I asking the questions I’m asking with the Freedom of Information requests. Because the State Board is not giving me the answers I need to know to arrive at a conclusion. If residents of Hancock County have an overriding fear, it’s that our school system is decimated; the futures of many of its employees are torn to shreds; and the person responsible walks away without even a slap on the wrist.
……..Why do I want to see: the financials Campinelli sent to the state. Were they the true numbers which reflected a deficit or the ones he was showing the local board.
…..Documentation that Campinelli refused to use WVEIS and any documentation that he was reprimanded or ordered to do so. WVEIS is a big deal. Because it verifies the amount in each account is correct. The spread sheets used by Campinelli could not be verified.
**I want to see the e-mails and documents that prove that there was action being taken by the State Board of Education and I want to know whether financials sent to the State reflected how much money we really had;
**Finally, I want to see the President of the State Board of Education Paul Hardesty admit that the State Board dropped the ball and apologize for the disparaging way he spoke about our school system.
