Several people attended the Feb. 3 meeting during which the Tyler County Board of Education voted, again, in a 3-2 decision to not renew Superintendent Shane Highley's contract. No explanation was given by the board as to why his contract was not renewed.

A long line of speakers voicing their support wasn’t enough to get the Tyler County Board of Education to change its mind on renewing Superintendent Shane Highley’s contract.

Even after several people lauded Highley, the board returned from an hour long executive session with the same vote it cast the first time they voted on Highley’s contract in January, 3-2 not to renew.

The split among members of the board also remained the same. Board members Diane Stender, Larry Thomas, and Andy Shreves voted against Highley’s contract, while Board President Katrina Byers and board member Scott Strode voted to keep Highley.

Many of the people who packed the auditorium at Tyler Consolidated High School – county teachers, administrators, coaches, students, local residents and parents – turned out in favor of Highley and the job he has done as superintendent. Each person signed up to speak was given 10 minutes to voice their opinions, pushing the meeting’s end close to midnight.

In an interview prior to the meeting, Steve Placer, a longtime resident and supporter of Tyler County schools, had high praise for Superintendent Highley and the job he has done for the school system.

“The board has made the wrong decision. Superintendent Highley has done nothing but good things for Tyler County Schools. Teacher morale is and has been at an all-time high under his leadership. Test scores are high and Tyler County schools rank high among state schools, “said Placer.

“He has been instrumental in maintaining the facilities and moving towards a new elementary one campus consolidation.”

Highley’s father Keith Highley said his son has put his heart and soul into Tyler County schools and has performed his job above and beyond expectations. “They are not looking at his record of achievements which are extraordinary. He has met or exceeded all the standards set for him, but three board members with no explanation why have looked the other way and decided he hasn’t done enough. I believe this is a sign they have personal agendas against him, “said Mr. Highley.

Tyler County resident Kay Lynn Wells echoed those sentiments. “He has earned the right to stay as Superintendent. He has done a great job and is the kind of person Tyler County Schools need. The community, teachers, administrators and students support him, “said Wells.

Nearly 300 people packed the meeting on Monday, February 3, as the board agenda called for another vote to renew Highley’s contract.

Over 30 people including several students signed up to address the board concerning the proposal. All but one spoke in favor of Highley, while the one expressed his dissatisfaction with the direction of the school system.

Among those addressing the board was Tyler Consolidated high school Principal Paden Morris. Morris described Superintendent Highley as a hard worker who cares passionately about the students and staff. He called him a friend who goes out of his way to help others.

Paden said that he and Mr Highley have a lot in common, stating neither were from Tyler County but have made it their home. He said they also share the same passions for education. He added his wife was hired in the school system and one day while delivering forms to the county office she had car trouble, she was unable to reach him by phone, but Mr Highley and Mr. Jeff Davis came to her rescue fixing her problem with the car. Mr. Morris stated that in other county’s this scenario would not have happened with the superintendent coming to her aid to fix a car. He said following this he and his wife decided they wanted Tyler County to be their home. Paden went on to give credit to all the people that were there in support of Shane but most importantly the students that were present.

“I am here tonight to encourage the board to do what is right and retain Mr. Highley.” “These students are also here for a reason, they want their Superintendent to retain his position,”stated Morris.

Linda Hoover, a Tyler County educator for over 20 years and a past member and President of the BOE for 31 years remarked that two of the three board members have only worked with Mr. Highley for 6 months she finds it hard to believe that you can form an opinion of his work ethic in that short of a period of time. She stated that it takes at least a year to really find out who you are working for.

Tyler County resident Roger Weese was the only speaker that spoke against keeping Mr. Highley. He focused his remarks on the test score rankings, and in his words, “How can you, Tyler County citizens, be satisfied with being ranked 8th in the state of WV.”

“We have invested more money and the best facilities, but we have descended on a downward spiral to number eight. My wife, when she was Superintendent, was mainly responsible for the consolidation and the new school. Also Tyler County was not number eight in the state; they were number one under her leadership. Year after year after year Tyler County received trophies for their rankings; “how many trophies have you won lately,” asked Weese.

“We are a democracy. We elect our officials to carry out our agenda, when they don’t we make changes at election time. You don’t try to bully or intimidate board members for doing what is the best decision for the schools.”

“You are not aware of what the board members know, they meet behind closed doors, they hear what is really going on in Tyler County. I’ll tell you what you are ranked, number one in the state of WV in suicides and attempted suicides. We have bullying going on, students dropping out of school and transferring to other schools. Students are being physically and mentally being abused daily in this school. The board knows about other problems that the citizens do not know about regarding personnel and curriculum. The board did not fire him; they simply decided to move on because they feel someone else can do a better job for the students of Tyler County.”

During Weese’s remarks others in attendance turned their backs to him and several left the room including board member Scott Strode. Some students were in tears and also departed.

Following Mr. Weese, Jeff Lancaster spoke to the board and again reiterated what many had said regarding Superintendent Highley’s excellent performance and his love for the students and Tyler County Schools in general.

At 10:48 the board finished up regular business and President Byers asked for a motion to renew Highley’s contract. At that point board member Strode made a motion to enter into executive session for discussion on the matter. Upon returning at 11:51 p.m. the board voted 3-2 not to renew the contract. The vote was identical to the previous vote taken in January. Following the vote, no explanation was given by the board for not renewing the contract even with many audience members asking out loud, “Why?”