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State designee approves personnel actions after employees and union object to short or unclear notice
Summary
At a May 1 special meeting, a state designee approved personnel actions for three Upshur County Schools employees after the employees and the West Virginia Professional Educators raised procedural objections about short or unclear notice and typographical errors in termination/transfer notices.
A state designee for the West Virginia superintendent approved proposed personnel actions affecting three Upshur County Schools employees at a May 1 special meeting called to correct a procedural oversight, after employees and their union argued they had received insufficient or unclear notice of the hearings.
Jeff Kelly, associate superintendent with the West Virginia Department of Education, told the board he was serving as the designee for State Superintendent Michelle Blatt and that, under the state intervention declared June 14, 2023, final determinations on the staffing actions are to be made by the superintendent or her designees. "As the designee for Michelle Blatt ... I hereby approve the proposed personnel actions presented by Superintendent Miller," Kelly said, concluding the personnel hearings.
The special meeting was convened to address an omission from the board's March 25, 2026 action: although the board approved transfers for the listed employees, it did not complete the separate termination step required by state law when a contract changes from more than 200 days to a 200-day contract. The chair explained the board called the meeting "to correct that procedural oversight" and cited the statutory requirement for a two-step process.
Taylor Stacy, who identified herself as assistant principal and athletic director at the high school, read a letter submitted on behalf of three employees by the West Virginia Professional Educators. The letter, authored by Susan Atkins, objected to the additional personnel hearings for Taylor Stacy, Miranda Skidmore, and Danielle Rexrode on the grounds that the certified notices were delivered on the afternoon of April 28, 2026, for a hearing scheduled at 10 a.m. on May 1, 2026, which the union said did not provide adequate time to prepare or to obtain representation. "In West Virginia, 3 days notice is insufficient for a personnel hearing under West Virginia due process standards," the letter states.
Stacy also told the hearing she had understood her original notice as a transfer and said she had not been told her assistant principal/athletic director position was being eliminated. "I was never notified that my position at the high school was being terminated. I was only ever told that I was being transferred," Stacy said, asking the record to reflect she believed there had been a procedural mishap and that the short notice impeded the employees' ability to secure representation.
Board counsel and the designee noted that the corrective action was procedural in nature and that the underlying personnel outcome had not changed from the original recommendation. Counsel said the statute cited does not prescribe a specific timeframe for notice, and Jeff Kelly acknowledged the grievance process remains available to employees; the parties had expedited grievances to a level 3 proceeding and had until May 8 to provide available dates for that process.
The designee's approval concluded the hearing. The meeting record reflects that final determinations regarding the proposed staffing actions will be made by State Superintendent Michelle Blatt or her designees in accordance with the state intervention order; the local county board does not have authority to render final decisions on these personnel matters.
The meeting adjourned at 10:21 a.m.
