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Athletic director Carrie Hutton urges board member recusal over middle‑school softball dispute
Summary
Carrie Hutton, a long‑time Craig County Public Schools employee and former athletic director, told the board she was disappointed in a member's conduct and said the member should have recused themselves from a middle‑school softball matter; no formal board response was recorded in the public session.
Carrie Hutton, who identified herself as an employee of Craig County Public Schools for more than 26 years and a former athletic director, used the public comment period to urge the board to prioritize students and criticized a board member's recent conduct in a middle‑school softball matter.
"First and foremost, they should have recused themselves from the middle school softball matter," Hutton said, accusing a board member of personal advocacy that disrupted scheduling and undermined coaches who had already been hired. She said the timing of the issue, raised about two weeks before the spring season, made it difficult to schedule games and secure officials and that a parent contacted other schools while "misrepresenting themselves for Craig County." Hutton also said comments by the board member about Title IX and social‑media posts reflected poorly on the school system and embarrassed employees.
Hutton said the episode forced staff to revisit an issue that had already been scheduled for the next school year, and that her concern was the well‑being of students and the integrity of the athletic program. She asked the board to keep future discussions focused on students' best interests.
The public portion of the meeting concluded without an on‑record response from the board specifying action or rebuttal to Hutton's allegations; the record shows the board thanked her and moved on to other agenda items.
