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State Board May Consider Partial Takeover of Hampshire Schools of Meeting

Posted on: Friday, 13 January 2006, 00:00 CST

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

The state Board of Education has directed Hampshire County school board members to attend its meeting today to respond to an audit that could lead to at least a partial takeover of the school system.

"A report will be presented, and that report doesn't look good," state schools Superintendent Steve Paine said Tuesday. "As to what the state board will do, I have no idea."

The audit is a follow-up to an earlier review of the school system conducted by the state Office of Education Performance Audits that found numerous violations of state law and state board policies by former House Education Chairman Jerry Mezzatesta, D-Hampshire, and others.

The first audit's findings prompted the state school board to strip Hampshire County schools of accreditation last year. The Hampshire school board fired Mezzatesta from his $60,000 administrative job last April.

Hampshire school officials were given six months to fix the problems. Kenna Seal, director of the Office of Education Performance Audits, was expected to recommend at least a partial takeover of the county's schools on Wednesday, the newspaper reported.

"This is a serious thing," state school board member Priscilla Haden told the newspaper. "We just don't do this lightly. It's going to help us if Hampshire board members are there to give a response."

Haden said she was still reviewing the audit on Tuesday afternoon.

Source: Charleston Daily Mail

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