McDowell County Board of Education Holds Regular Meeting March 19

The McDowell County Board of Education met Thursday, March 19 at the Central Office on 900 Mount View Road in Welch, with the full meeting posted publicly to the district's YouTube channel for residents unable to attend in person.

The board's solicitor report came from Miss Deleon, who appeared in place of regular solicitor Peter Omuso. Deleon disclosed that the board had met in executive session on March 12 to discuss personnel matters and possible litigation, and again earlier the same day to discuss safety and security. "There is nothing public to report, but the board has our written solicitor's report of the month," she told the board.

The meeting's discussion portion featured a presentation on secondary success data from Tim Kennedy, principal of Mount View High School, and Frazier McGuire, principal of River View High School. The board also took public input on the proposed SY 2026-27 school calendar, with a formal vote on the 2026-2027 McDowell County School Calendar listed as the final action item on the agenda.

On personnel, the board considered the employment of Frances Barnett as a county-wide short-term substitute teacher and Aaron Rollins as a county-wide restricted short-term substitute teacher, both effective March 30. The board also took up a leave request from Janette Stansbury, a Title I facilitator at Iaeger Elementary, for intermittent medical leave with an effective date to be determined.

Student travel also appeared on the agenda. Eleventh and twelfth graders from the Career and Technical Center are scheduled for a campus tour at Bluefield State University on April 1. Mount View High School softball teams have multiple van trips listed for mid-April, with high school players in grades 9-12 set for April 16 and middle school players in grades 6-8 listed on multiple agenda entries dated April 15 and April 17; the district should be contacted to confirm which dates were formally approved.

Public comment during the meeting was limited to three minutes per speaker, with the board noting the broadcast was carried live on CRTV. A reference in the meeting video to "Monday, March 30th" lacked full context in the available recording, and the district has not clarified what deadline or event that date signified.

The agenda also listed approval of minutes from the March 5, 2025 regular session, though that date appears to be a clerical error on the printed agenda given the meeting took place in 2026. The next regular board meeting is scheduled for April 2.