Superintendent Williams Addresses the Public About Controversial Proposed Policy

At the January 6^th Pocahontas County Board of Education meeting, in response to the delegations by Josh Hardy criticizing the proposed staff/board communication, which we covered during the first part of our story about this meeting, Superintendent Williams directly addressed the public by reading the following statement.

“I am going to address the misinformation about the recent proposed revision to policy 3112. This proposed provision does not restrict staff or citizens from speaking individually with elected board members. Rather, it is rooted in the concerns arising from the West Virginia Department of Education State of Emergency, and the erosion of team command. As your leader in the school system, I am committed to keeping the Pocahontas County Schools on the right track, and addressing issues stemming from the West Virginia Department of Education State of Emergency, including clarifying, and enforcing chain of command, and establishing a communication structure that supports that. I respect the challenges faced by the Pocahontas County Board of Education and staff and students during the special circumstances review, which includes, as we have heard tonight, Board/Superintendent relationships, Central Office communication with our schools, school support and Special Education compliance. I am mindful of the stress our county has endured, and have worked to ensure transparency in reporting and decision making in all things that I am doing. Those times of poor communication and lack of transparency are behind us. Together we are building a stronger system with common practices, clear communication, high expectations, and policy driven decision making. This will foster a better working climate for our staff, a healthier culture and an evidenced-based organization focused on serving our students. I understand not every answer will be what our folks have hoped to hear, but we must accept the outcomes and move forward together. So I want to talk a little bit about the policy, and what was in the policy. This policy has existed since 2020 ‘so social interactions,’ the policy reads, ‘Staff and Board Members may discuss general education matters informally at all social events- any social events. However, board members cannot act on behalf of the board, except in quorum in open session and when specifically authorized. It is unacceptable for any board members to discuss personal grievances, personnel grievances or complaints if established procedures exist West Virginia Code 6C-2 and state Policy 7211 deals with the grievance process and the complaint process. Those are outlined. Communication – all official Pocahontas County Schools business communication from staff to board and its committees should preferably be submitted through the Superintendent It will forward them within 7 days on receipt. If the staff member chooses communication directly with the board, the message must be sent to all the board members and copied to the Superintendent. Please note, the proposed policy revision only changed one section. If a staff member chooses to communicate directly to the board regarding county business, than that communication should be sent to all board members, and the superintendent should be copied as well.”

“Out of concern for the health of our county, I will remove this proposed revision from our agenda. My goal is to unite our county and our school system. We will enforce chain-of-command, but we will not do it at the expense of the relationships, and this policy. If it that strongly felt about, we can remove it.”

“I consistently maintain an open-door practice, and I am always willing to meet with staff and citizens to discuss issues and solve problems. Again, strong leadership means there are times I cannot provide the answer that folks want to hear.But, the guidance will always be rooted in policy.”

“As a final thought, I am truly grateful for each staff member, for each community member in our county. I know that great progress is occurring in our school system, and will continue to occur. A quite that seems fitting as we begin our second semester and start the new calendar year-‘the secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but building the new’ -Socrates. We are stronger together when we work together, pull together, and understand the perimeter’s of how our organization functions. Thank you.”

During the personnel section, the board members approved placing Christine Campbell, the Principal of PCHS on a Leave of Absence effective December 17, 2025 through the remainder of the 2025-2026 school year. They also approved her resignation due to retirement as Principal at PCHS effective June 30, 2026. No reasons were given for these actions.

They also approved the appointment of Tom Sanders as Substitute Principal of PCHS effective upon his successful completion of a background check.