The school board is made up of five members, each elected to a four-year term in a nonpartisan election. The board appoints the superintendent. Current members:[1]
Member
Position
Term
Tracy White
President
2022-2026
Ryan White
Member
2022-2026
Becky Jones Jordon
Member
2022-2026
Jim Joseph Crawford Sr.
Member
2020-2024
Ric Cavender
Member
2020-2024
The superintendent is Dr. Tom Williams
Budget
Kanawha County Schools faced a multimillion-dollar budget crisis for the FY 2012, but had overcome the issue in time. Superintendent Duerring stated that school officials' two major goals, if the shortfall was to occur, is to maintain the current curriculum as much as possible, and not decrease employee wages or benefits.
The County Board of Education members are also paid $160 per meeting, and are not allowed to exceed 50 meetings in a school year or else they will not be paid.
[2]
Per Pupil Spending
For 2006–2007, Kanawha County spent $9,855 per pupil. The state average was $9,611.[3]
Academic performance
No Child Left Behind
For the 2008–2009 school year, Kanawha was ranked as being "Below AYP - Status
Needs Improvement in One Or More Accountability Cells."[4] They did not meet AYP standards for 2008 or 2007 either.[5]
WESTEST (West Virginia Educational Standards Test) 2 is defined by the WVDOE as "a custom-designed assessment for West Virginia students. The individual content assessments measure a student’s levels of performance on clearly defined standards and objectives and skills."[7]
AFT-Kanawha Local 4444 is the locally chartered union of the American Federation of Teachers.[9][10] AFT-Kanawha represents only teachers in Kanawha County. Fred Albert is the president of AFT Local 4444.[11]
AFT-Kanawha is a local affiliate of AFT-West Virginia.[12] All AFT local unions are affiliated with the National and WV AFL-CIO [13]
The West Virginia School Service Personnel (WVSSPA)[14] represents school service personnel in Kanawha County Schools. School service personnel include non-administrative office employees, aides, custodians, transportation, maintenance, and school meal providers. WVSSPA is a chartered local of AFT-WV.[15]
The Kanawha County Education Association (KCEA) is an association of school administrators and teachers for this school district.[16] Dinah Adkins is the president. It is a local affiliate of the West Virginia Education Association.
School choice
West Virginia is one of 10 states that does not have a charter school law.[17]
By written request from a parent or guardian, a superintendent may transfer students from one school in the district to another. The county school board can also transfer students from one school district to another.[18]
It is in the "West Side" neighborhood in Charleston. It was previously Stonewall Jackson Middle School and it occupies a facility that formerly housed high school grades. In 2020 an online petition to give the school what became its current name surfaced, and 6,500 signatures appeared. In July of that year all members of the school board voted to change the name.[20]
