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MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — Berkeley County (W.Va.) Council members on Tuesday were urged to intervene in the county school system’s handling of a verbal-abuse case at a Martinsburg elementary school.
Sharon Oden, a neighbor of one of the children subjected to verbal abuse at Berkeley Heights Elementary School, cited state code that provides the council with the authority to remove school officers having fixed terms in calling for the removal of Berkeley County Schools Superintendent Manny Arvon, deputy superintendents Don Dellinger and Margaret Kursey, and Berkeley County Board of Education President William F. “Bill” Queen, among others.
Oden also requested that a “no-confidence” vote be taken by the council.
Oden said in prepared remarks that the school district’s leaders committed misconduct and failed in their duties to respond in a timely manner to allegations of verbal abuse of children with special needs at the elementary school.
Three special-education classroom staffers linked to the verbal-abuse allegations have resigned, and the students were placed elsewhere in the district.
In a letter last week to parents and concerned residents, the school board said it understands the community’s need for a timely resolution, but also noted that the board is bound by “process and confidentiality” during an ongoing investigation to carry out the most appropriate measures as they relate to any staff misconduct.”
Norwood Bentley, the council’s attorney said Tuesday it is his understanding that the state code cited by Oden gives the council the authority to remove certain elected officials, such as a board of education member or a county magistrate, but not the superintendent, who is under contract with the school board.
Council President Doug Copenhaver Jr. deferred making comment about Oden’s request to Bentley.
Copenhaver cited the involvement of a number of officials in the verbal-abuse case since it surfaced last fall, including Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney Catie Wilkes Delligatti and West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, among others.
“It seems like there’s a lot of energy being put forth to find out what was going on,” Copenhaver said.
Morrisey filed a human-rights action last week against three former employees at the elementary school, alleging that they verbally assaulted two nonverbal children with autism.
Morrisey last week indicated that he is working with Delligatti on an investigation, but declined to elaborate on who or what was within the scope of his probe besides “other entities and individuals.”
Delligatti announced Feb. 8 that a police investigation couldn’t prove that a criminal offense occurred after reviewing an audio recording of numerous instances of verbal abuse in the classroom.
The recording was made in early October with a device that Amber Pack, a mother of one of the special-needs students, hid in her child’s hair.
Her daughter and other children in the classroom since have been placed at other schools in the district.
One of them is the grandson of Diana Roberts, who joined Oden on Tuesday before the council, which convened as the Board of Review and Equalization.
“It wasn’t right how they handled it,” Roberts said of the school district’s response to the allegations since they surfaced in October.
In an interview after leaving council chambers, Roberts said her grandson’s behavior has improved considerably since he was removed from the classroom in question.
“He hasn’t had a tantrum since they moved him,” she said.
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