Logan BOE member claims transparency issues under state control, says he found out about new county super on Facebook
- Robert Fields
- 9 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Robert Fields | WVOW News
LOGAN One member of the Logan County Board of Education says he's concerned over what he describes as chaos following the State Board of Education’s installation of a third superintendent in four months.
State Superintendent Michele Blatt appointed Dr. Sonya White as the new superintendent of Logan County Schools last week, replacing Dr. George Aulenbacher, who had been leading the county system only since July. No reason has been given at this time for his replacement.
This week on “Ask the Attorney” with attorney Rob Kuenzel, former state delegate and current Logan County BOE member Ralph Rodighiero said there’s been a lack of clarity on the state’s part regarding when local control would be restored to the county. He said it’s concerning how few of his duties he’s been able to perform as a publicly elected member of that body.
"Every time we try to get our feet going in the right direction, some kind of crazy stuff happens like it did the other day," Rodighiero said.
"Listen, we had a meeting Tuesday night, we had talked to our (at that time) superintendent, we had made plans for what we was going to do at the next meeting... And at no time - I don't know if he was aware he wasn't going to be there the next day or if he wasn't going to tell us."
He said he was baffled by the method by which he actually learned of the new superintendent's appointment. When Dr. White was appointed last week, State Superintendent Blatt referred to her as Logan County's "permanent" superintendent. County board members said they were under the impression that Dr. Aulenbacher's appointment was the permanent one.
“Totally,” Logan County Board member Pat Joe White said, “you know, unexpected. I knew nothing about it and from my understanding, I don't think anyone else did.”
“Yeah, that was my understanding as well, is that he was our permanent superintendent," said Board President Tony Dean.
"I found out on Facebook," Rodighiero said. "Then I had people message me, 'hey, I heard y'all got a new superintendent,' and I said, 'yeah, he's been there about three or four months.' They said, 'no, Aulenbacher's not there no more. You got a new one.'"
"We're not up on nothing. The state board's not keeping us updated," he said.
The state Board of Education has overseen Logan County Schools since taking control in October 2022. One of the reasons cited during the time of the takeover was a lack of transparency on the part of the county school board.
Kuenzel suggested to Rodighiero that the county board seek whatever avenues necessary to get some more transparency from the state on when and how local control will be relinquished back to Logan County's elected officials.
“The people that voted you guys in, they expect you guys to be our board members, and I would just urge you guys to try and seek some answers, whether it be through some private firm or the Attorney General or somebody," he said.
“That’s the position I take because I’m a big proponent of local control on local issues, so I encourage you to try and get some answers.”
"Ask the Attorney" with attorney Rob Kuenzel airs Wednesday mornings at 8:45am.
Click here to listen to this week's episode.
PHOTO | A.M. Stone