Raleigh County board approves curriculum renewals, Character Strong SEL program, meal‑price changes and several personnel actions including a teacher's removal

At its meeting the Raleigh County Board of Education approved a package of curricular and administrative items and completed several personnel actions.

Curriculum and programs: the board approved renewal of the i‑Ready (Curriculum Associates) program for K–8 benchmarks and personalized pathways, and continued countywide use of Simple Solutions math workbooks. The board also approved adoption of the Character Strong social‑emotional learning and character‑development curriculum for all elementary schools for 2026‑27; administration said Character Strong supports tiers 1–3 and will assist PBIS tier‑2 interventions next year.

Nutrition and services: Miss Reev presented a recommendation to raise adult meal and student second‑meal prices for 2026‑27 to align paid prices with production costs; the board approved the change to meet program compliance. The board approved a renewal/contract with Smile West Virginia for mobile dental services; the district said Smile WV completed 1,021 student visits this year across 23 schools.

Finance and contracts: the board authorized the treasurer to make necessary supplemental transfers to close the fiscal year and approved routine consent items.

Personnel and executive session: the board approved multiple administrative‑leave recommendations and, after entering executive session for personnel matters, voted to suspend and terminate teacher Sam Urick on the superintendent's recommendation. Dr. Hutchkins recused herself from the item because of a family involvement she disclosed on the record. The board also conducted the superintendent’s annual performance evaluation and recorded a satisfactory rating in open session.

Voting: most votes were recorded as "motion carries" by voice; the meeting transcript records motions, seconds and voice approvals but does not list detailed roll‑call tallies for each motion in the public transcript.

Ending: Board members said personnel matters and some budget adjustments require routine follow up in closed session or at the next meeting; no additional action on potential school closures occurred at this meeting.

Ending note: the board adjourned after completing the agenda.