Cumberland Times-News

Local News

December 28, 2012

W.Va. education board members resign over firing

Two were opposed to dismissal of former state schools superintendent

lawrence messina Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va — West Virginia Board of Education members Jenny Phillips and Priscilla Haden have resigned, following through on vows prompted by the abrupt firing of Jorea Marple as state schools superintendent last month.

Phillips and Haden each sent a letter Thursday to Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin. The two had dissented when the board voted Nov. 15 to dismiss Marple, who was then told to clear out her office that day.

Praising Marple’s credentials and performance, Phillips and Haden each expressed outrage following the firing and said then that they would leave the board.

“I just abhor the method that they used in firing Dr. Marple,” Haden, a Kanawha County resident and retired educator, told The Associated Press on Friday.

Phillips wrote that she “can no longer serve on the Board that shows such a lack of regard for a person’s reputation and livelihood.”

The board had unanimously selected Marple — a veteran educator, administrator and author — in February 2011 after a search and interview process. In the wake of her ouster, the board issued a statement that referred to lagging student performance and a desire to “head in a new direction with new leadership.”

Haden said she’s asked Tomblin to choose someone from the Eastern Panhandle, which is leading the state for population growth, for her seat.

She also expressed thanks for her near-decade on the board. Her term was to expire next year.

The board voted earlier this month to hire James Phares as superintendent. Endorsed by Board President Wade Linger within hours of Marple’s firing, Phares has been schools chief in Pocahontas, Marion and, most recently, Randolph County. He steps down from that job to take the state post Wednesday.

Text Only
Local News
  • Taking the fifth Taking the fifth

    The Internal Revenue Service official at the center of the storm over the agency’s targeting of conservative groups told Congress on Wednesday that she had done nothing wrong in the episode, and then invoked her constitutional right to refuse to answer lawmakers’ questions.

    May 22, 2013 1 Photo

  • Rocky Gap casino opens

    The newly christened Rocky Gap Casino Resort has opened its doors to the public.

    May 22, 2013

  • Frostburg officials OK 2014 budget

    The Frostburg mayor and city council have voted to adopt a $9.7 million budget for fiscal year 2014 and to keep open an alley that many citizens feared would be closed.

    May 22, 2013

  • Driveway artist Driveway artist

    May 22, 2013 1 Photo

  • Okla. tornado may have caused more than $2B in damage

    The tornado that struck an Oklahoma City suburb this week may have created $2 billion or more in damage as it tore through as many as 13,000 homes, multiple schools and a hospital, officials said Wednesday as they gave the first detailed account of the devastation.

    May 22, 2013

  • Somerset-to-Meyersdale U.S. Route 219 sends its last permit

    The final permit is on the way for a Somerset-to-Meyersdale U.S. Route 219 improvement project to begin.

    May 22, 2013

  • JOHN DELANEY Delaney introduces an initiative for a national infrastructure bank

    Freshman U.S. Rep. John Delaney on Wednesday rolled out his signature legislative initiative for his first term — a plan for a national infrastructure bank that requires no federal appropriations.

    May 22, 2013 1 Photo

  • Fireball spotted over Maryland

    A bright light seen traveling across the sky over the weekend by dozens of witnesses across Maryland and the region is what astronomers are calling a fragmenting meteoric fireball.

    May 22, 2013

  • 6th annual DelFest has arrived, bigger than ever 6th annual DelFest has arrived, bigger than ever

    Thirty national recording artists are preparing to step into the Cumberland spotlight this weekend at the Allegany County Fairgrounds as DelFest rolls into town for its sixth annual musical festival.

    May 22, 2013 2 Photos

  • Keyser woman organizing opposition to proposed housing complex

    Barbara Hartman, who lives near Pine Swamp Road, said she doesn’t want Bayridge Green built near her and is trying to do something about it.

    May 22, 2013