Craig Howell Members of the Hancock County Board of Education have expressed frustrations over the process of the West Virginia Department of Education taking over the district.

NEW CUMBERLAND — It’s been a little more than two months since the West Virginia State Board of Education took control of the Hancock County School District, and some local school board members said they are becoming frustrated about the situation the district finds itself in.

“You have no input and the state is going way deeper than what their original statement detailed,” said Chris Gillette, president of the local board, ahead of Monday’s 5:30 p.m. meeting at the John D. Rockefeller IV Career Center.

That’s been the case since Jan. 16, when state officials stepped in to take control of the district, citing, among other items, overstaffing it said was related to use of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funds that has been provided through COVID-related programs to support personnel costs and other projects.

“We do not have voting privileges,” said board member Jim Horstman. “I still run my district — I get calls all of the time, and I answer them the best that I can.”

Walter Saunders, who was named the district’s superintendent, replaced Dan Enich in that spot. Saunders had been serving as director of federal programs and assessments for Ohio County Schools before he was named to the post. The state moved in to take over the administration of the district after its debt exceeded $10 million.

That means members of the board of education have no say in how the district is run.

Saunders said everything is being done according to the state code book.

“I think that policy and people’s perception are not the same thing,” he explained.

Jeff Davis of Education Consulting Team LLC and Uriah Cummings, school financial operations officer for the state Department of Education, delivered a review that looked at the district’s finances for several months during the Feb. 2 Hancock board meeting. After comparing the differences between the Fiscal Year 2024 and Fiscal Year 2025, they said much of the issue appears to have happened within the last year.

It was noted factors contributing to a decrease in the county’s fund balance — in itself a loss of approximately $7.7 million — could be attributed to the loss of COVID-related funding of $3.6 million used to support personnel salaries and benefits, which then had to be supported by the general fund, an increase in benefit costs of $975,634 which was associated with increases in PEIA, a yearly debt service of $510,000 for the lease associated with the turf and lighting project at Oak Glen High School, increases in costs by $465,000 per year in food service, a $1.1 million overrun on the physical education expansion project at Weir High, an additional $266,000 beyond state funding to purchase school buses, $584,311 on textbooks and more than $357,000 on out-of-state placement payments for charter schools.

That, plus a decline in enrollment that left the district with 3,300 students and, according to the state, with approximately 140 more employees than formulas allowed, helped the financial issues to grow.

Saunders, while delivering a report to the state board of education last week, said the staffing concerns were among those that are being addressed.

“Employees who have been identified for reduction in force or transfers have been formally notified, ensuring clarity and transparency for staff as we move forward,” he said during his presentation.

Saunders said Wednesday a key date is approaching.

“April 1 is the deadline for reduction in force and transfer letters,” he explained. “After that time, we will meet with principals and with the directors to work on our staffing models for the 2026-27 school year based on student need.”

The depths of the issues the district has been facing came to a head during a Nov. 16 board meeting, when the board voted 4-0 to terminate Joe Campinelli, who had served as the director of finance. At the time, Enich said the district was working with state officials to address budget concerns, the decline of student population and the loss of state funding that accompanies that.

Gillette said he did not think Campinelli provided timely information, and he and Horstman said it did not seem to them that Enich and Campinelli were comfortable working together.

“I’m not sure how involved Dan was,” Horstman wrote. “He and Joe did not seem to have a good working relationship. Dan was not very transparent with information, in my opinion.”

Gillette concurred.

“Dan and Joe did not have a great working relationship because Joe always kept him waiting for data,” Gillette said.

Attempts to reach Enich and Campinelli were not successful.

In early January, Enich notified the state school board that “there was a great possibility that we will not be able to meet payroll for the second pay in January of 2026, which must be processed Jan. 19, 2026.”

It has been troubling to everyone concerned.

“We were elected to do a job that you have a passion for and cannot do,” Gillette said. “I have not slept since this ordeal started.”

Board members including Gillette, Horstman and Ed Fields said they dispute some reports that had circulated concerning employee pay. They said that those adjustments were not bonuses, but were salary supplements that were part of the district’s excess levy that was passed in November 2022.

Included in that levy was $4.3 million annually for employees to align their pay with neighboring states. Those payments were distributed to employees twice a year, Gillette said.

They also questioned why the school board members were never notified by any state agency that Hancock County schools did not abide by the requirement that it use the West Virginia Education Information System. They said 54 of the 55 counties in the state use the system — with the only exception being Hancock.

State code, they add, mandates use of the state’s accounting system and added that repercussions exist if it is not used.

Multiple attempts to reach state school officials for comments were unsuccessful.

The issues facing the district are playing out as election season starts to ramp up, which will bring changes to the makeup of the board. Gillette and Randy Swartzmiller still have two years remaining on their terms. Fields and Jack Crow had filed to seek re-election in the May 12 primary, but have since withdrawn from the election.

Horstman, who lives in the Clay District, is seeking re-election.

Other candidates in the non-partisan election include Zach Adams, who lives in the Grant District; Melissa Bane, who lives in the Clay District; David Brown, who lives in the Grant District; Seth A. Cheuvront, who lives in the Grant District; Tiffany Gale, who lives in the Butler District; Curt Parkins, who lives in the Grant District; Michael Phelps, who lives in the Butler District; and Jeff Woofter, who lives in the Clay District.

While all voters in Hancock County will have the chance to vote on all of the candidates, state law allows just two residents of any one district to serve on the five-person board.