Monday, March 23 at 5:30 p.m. the Hancock County School Board will meet at the JDRIV Center in New Cumberland.
……..This marks the second meeting the Hancock County Board has had after the State takeover.. Although elected by a vote of the people, local Board members have been stripped of their power to vote on agenda items. Those decisions are made in Charleston.
……..Citizens still have the opportunity to speak out under the Delegations‘ portion of the agenda. Comments may be limited to 3-5 minutes and no individual names may be mentioned. This is your time to make your feelings heard about the reductions in pro officers and the use of levy funds. This is also the time to make your feelings known about the lack of transparency shown by the new administration.
……..Depriving our children of PRO officers in every school is not a done deal. Citizens are exploring ways they can show their support for Sherrif Scott Gittings and Weirton Chief Charlie Kush stance on not reducing the PRO officers A petition drive is one form of protest being explored.
……….While Superintendent Walt Saunders said that transparency was to be the district’s goal going forth, official information has not been forthcoming.
……..Some of the questions which have not been answered:
**While the initial count for staff layoffs was 140, word has filtered down that the actual number is 200. Most assistant principle positions have been eliminated, there is one nurse left, and the school safety officer is gone. Once the dust settles on the transfers, that would make a good press release to detail the number of RIFs and what schools. Wouldn’t make us feel any better, but might go a long ways in restoring trust.
**The use of the $750,000 in the levy for Police Resource Officers is a major issue. Saunders initially said the funds in the levy were not sufficient to fund all the officers. Having PRO officers in each school was how the levy was sold to the voters. What changed?
……..What changed was that Saunders and the State decided to use only 75% of the levy money allocated ($525,000) and using 25% for other safety issues. When I questioned the use of the 25% for other items or projects, Saunders referred me to section (i) as giving them permission to use that money for other material. When I asked for a list of what they were going to purchase, Saunders said it had not been compiled.
………And those staff not losing their jobs are reduced in hours which essentially amounts to a paycut. The Central Office is not abiding by its own rules; Saunder’s salary is $185,000.00 per year way more than former Superintendent Dan Enich made. The new Human Resource Director is paid $118.00 while Campinelli’s replacement, Erin Harvey, will make $144,000.
……….The elected Board of Education President Chris Gillette has been frustrated by his inability to get information so he filed his own FOIA request. Gillette is honing in on the loan from Country Road Leasing. LLC which was approved under former Superintendent Dawn Petrovich. Some, but not all, of the documents requested:: 1)All correspondence between Joseph Campinelli and Country Roads Leasing (Oak Glen Turf and Lights) including financial reports that Hancock County provided along with any applications completed to the process 2)All correspondence between to any financial institution that were involved the process to solicit the Safety Bond Levy including financial reports along with any applications. Especially, Firth Third Security of Cincinnati who secured the bonds.
…………3)Provide who purchased and the date purchased, the person/department that maintained and the person/department who installed the “High Speed Processor” on Joe Campanelli’s computer system. And was that system connected to an outside system or web site. Did this system have the capacity to transfer or receive money in any form.
…….. 7)Please provide a list of bills including contract and leases that have been paid after 1/16/25 along with letters canceling all contracts as of the date the Hancock BOE put the Stipulation in force..
LONGSTANDING PROBEMS:
,,,,,,In speaking with former staff and, superintendents , the problems with Joe Campinelli had occurred throughout the years. Former superintendents tried to fire him, put improvement plans in his file and letters of reprimand in his file. I am told those letters are gone.
………Missing bond or no bond? State code requires that the treasurer be bonded. From the time Campinelli took over until 2017, no bonds can be found. In 2017 Campinelli’s bond was set at $400,000 and was renewable every two years. In 2025, he was unable to get bonded by the current company and had to seek another company.
………..Was Campinelli unable to secure his bond because of his financial problems and did he simply tell then Superintendent Danny Kaser he had a bond and never produced it
**I think Hancock County schools have paid the price for any oversight, but I don’t hink there is anyway Joe Campinelli has been held accountable for the multitude of issues for which he is responsible. I also don’t think the State Board of Education has owned up to its lack of oversight.
