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Summers County Board approves paid leave, suspension, resignation and confidential settlement for employee; backs electric-bus grant
Summary
The Summers County Board of Education on Jan. 10 approved paid administrative leave and an unpaid suspension for employee Justin Keaton, accepted his resignation effective March 7, 2025, approved a confidential settlement agreement and authorized submission of a grant application for a second electric bus; most votes were unanimous.
The Summers County Board of Education voted on multiple personnel and administrative matters at its Jan. 10 meeting, including a series of actions involving employee Justin Keaton and approval of a grant application for an electric bus.
Under legal guidance from counsel and pursuant to discussion held in executive session under West Virginia Code §6-9A-4 (personnel), the board approved paid administrative leave for Justin Keaton covering Nov. 13, 2024 through noon Dec. 11, 2024; the motion, made and seconded on the record, carried 5-0. The board then approved a recommended unpaid suspension for Keaton from noon Dec. 11, 2024 through March 7, 2025; that motion also passed 5-0. The board accepted Keaton's resignation effective March 7, 2025 and approved a confidential settlement agreement with Keaton by recorded votes of 5-0.
Board members stated the steps followed legal guidance before taking the personnel votes. The meeting included two separate executive sessions for personnel matters; the board announced it would take no action on one superintendent-employment agenda item after executive session.
On financial and operational matters, the board approved payment of the bills for RT Rogers and Safe and Sound by a recorded vote of 4-0 with Mr. Brogan recused from that vote. The board also approved the remaining bills by a 5-0 vote.
The board approved submitting a grant application for a possible second electric bus; members noted this round is competitive, may require a local match, and that the district’s charging station can handle two buses. The motion to submit the application passed 5-0. The board also approved two out-of-state overnight student trips (a boys baseball trip to Bridgeport, WV, and a Jumping Branch Elementary fifth-grade trip to Williamsburg, VA) and voted to move the March 11 board meeting to March 10, 2025. Those votes were recorded as 5-0.
Where recorded, votes and motions were entered into the minutes: personnel items (paid leave, suspension, resignation, settlement) all passed 5-0; bills for RT Rogers and Safe and Sound passed 4-0 with a recusal; other votes were unanimous. The board deferred one employment-service item to the next meeting for further review.
Next steps: the board will revisit deferred employment-service items at its next meeting. The superintendent and staff will follow up on contract details related to facility transfers and bring additional details to the board as requested.
