It’s a new chapter for Hancock County Schools, and it’s one to which we won’t be seeing an end anytime soon.

A decision made Friday morning put the local school district – currently with two high schools, two middle schools, three elementary schools and a tech and career center – fully under the control of the state.

The superintendent and assistant superintendent were relieved of their positions, and the Hancock County Board of Education is, for all intents and purposes, powerless. While board meetings will continue, the reality is that those five individuals now are carrying out the will of the West Virginia Board of Education.

Walter Saunders, a long-time educator and administrator in Ohio County, has been tasked with leading Hancock County Schools through the process of right-sizing the district, figuring out what facilities should remain open, what programs should be offered, and what personnel shall remain employed. It’s not a responsibility anyone should envy, but, unfortunately, it must be done.

That still leaves the question of how Hancock County Schools got in this mess in the first place?

The easy things to point out are the decisions, over many years, to keep staffing in place despite those positions taking the system well beyond its budget, as well as major capital projects whose costs continued to balloon well past their original anticipated expense. The use of COVID-related funds, one-time allotments, to prop up continued obligations also played a role.

But was there more?

Nothing so far revealed would suggest an intentional theft of money. But even that can’t be taken off the table as the state looks through everything.

Financial reports weren’t done properly, and yet they somehow made it through the required auditing process and submissions to the state. How much were those reports reviewed before they were approved locally? Were the financial moves done on purpose, or was it a matter of laziness or even incompetence?

The taxpayers of Hancock County, and now all of West Virginia, need to know. Those answers will, eventually, come out. It’s going to take some time to get them and then to find out when the county is able to turn the page.