Harrison County Schools board approves assistant finance director after finance staff warn of past control failures

The Harrison County Board of Education on Oct. 27 approved a new assistant finance director position after members of the finance team told the board the district needs formal succession planning to prevent future financial instability.

Finance director Whitney Kynes told the board the district manages roughly $180 million a year — about $15 million a month — and described recurring control weaknesses that contributed to serious problems in 2022–23, including late financial reporting and unsubmitted federal withholdings. "There was no current plan for any other administrative position in Harrison County Schools," Kynes said during public comment, arguing the role would allow a trained successor to take over should the finance director leave or be incapacitated.

Two other finance staffers supported the request. Misty Del Rio, who processes payroll, said vacancies can “negatively impact” the organization and called the assistant finance director role important for training and continuity. Mary Anne Carvelli said she had arrived in 2022 to a department that ‘‘struggled’’ and warned that gains made over the last few years could be lost without a dedicated succession plan. Carvelli cited hundreds of thousands of dollars in penalties that the district had been assessed — more than $600,000 total, she said — which were later waived.

The board considered the vacant job description brought back from old business and, after a roll-call-style request for each member to state a vote, approved the position 4–1. The transcript records votes from Board Member Hogue (yes), Dr. Santillan (yes), Miss Smith (no) and Mr. Tucker (yes); one other board member verbally recorded a yes vote. The agenda did not list a mover and seconder on the public transcript; the board called for the vote and tallied it at the meeting.

Board discussion during the vote was procedural; no amendment to the job description was read into the record at the time of the final vote. Earlier in the meeting, Kynes linked the staffing request to a series of problems she said occurred in 2022–23: incomplete bank reconciliations, late federal grant reimbursements, duplicate or unpaid invoices, and missing or late submissions of required filings to the West Virginia Department of Education.

The request and vote were made under the routine personnel process; the motion recorded that the item had been removed from old business and returned to personnel for action. The board did not provide a date for filling the new position during the public session.

The superintendent and board did not propose a specific salary or funding source for the new assistant finance director during the public discussion. Kynes recommended the change as a preventive measure to preserve recent improvements in internal controls and federal compliance.

The board’s action follows a period in which several West Virginia districts faced state intervention for governance or financial issues; speakers referenced those state takeovers as a cautionary example for Harrison County.

The board did not take additional public action at the meeting to appoint or advertise the new position; next steps, including job posting or timeline, were not specified in the public record.