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Upshur County board drafts measurable goals to work toward regaining local control
Summary
Board members and staff agreed on measurable short-term goals — focused on personnel, finance and special education — they will submit to the state by Aug. 15 as part of a planner to demonstrate progress toward regaining incremental local control.
The Upshur County Board of Education reviewed and finalized a set of measurable short-term goals Tuesday that it will send to the state as evidence of progress toward regaining local control of personnel and finances.
A board member proposed the central pledge: “By the end of FY 2025 the Upshur County Board of Education will work with local and state authorities to continue the process of regaining local control of personnel and finance,” and the group refined that language to emphasize demonstrable steps and monitoring. The board and staff said the draft would be uploaded into the state’s planner and submitted to the state by the Aug. 15 deadline.
The goal framework concentrates on several immediate focus areas the state identified in its takeover report, including federal programs, child nutrition, local policies and procedures, personnel and payroll, procurement (West Virginia Board policy 8200) and excess-levy processes. Board members said the district will seek incremental returns of authority in specific areas as it shows compliance and sustained implementation.
Board members emphasized coupling system goals with explicit action steps and regular monitoring. One board member said the district should prioritize achievable targets that show progress to the state over the next 12 months, particularly in personnel and finance, while acknowledging that instructional and achievement gains typically take longer to show.
The board also drafted goals to support teacher retention and student achievement: increasing academic progress in math and English/language arts, improving attendance and discipline metrics, and tracking on-course-to-graduate indicators. A separate goal was drafted for special education: the Upshur County special-education department will demonstrate compliance in identified deficiencies while improving student outcomes during 2024–25.
Staff said they would type the goals, upload them to the state planner that afternoon and request placement on next week’s public agenda so the goals are formally recorded and board members can approve action steps and monitoring plans.
The board did not set a firm date at which full local control would be restored; members said state law and the state board’s oversight timeline would determine when and whether incremental control is returned.
