Published: May 13, 2008 10:20 am         

RESA suspends computer technician

KEYSER - The Region VIII Education Service Agency suspended an employee without pay during a video teleconference meeting Monday.

RESA VIII is made up of representatives from Berkeley, Morgan, Jefferson, Mineral, Hampshire, Hardy, Grant and Pendleton counties.

The agency's board met in regular session Monday to take action on program and personnel matters.

The members approved the suspension, without pay, of computer repair technician Kevin Graham, effective May 6.

When asked if the suspension was part of the problems that surfaced recently as a result of an audit and investigation into finances at the South Branch Career and Technical Center in Petersburg, John Hough, RESA VIII executive director, said that the investigation at the center is continuing and involves the State Department of Education.

"Since this is a personnel matter, I can't say any more," he said of the suspension.

Ron Whetzel, superintendent of Hardy County schools and member of the board that operates the career center, with members from Hardy, Grant and Pendleton counties, participated in the teleconference and later confirmed that Graham had served the career center as well as other schools in the eight-county region.

The investigation into the career center finances began last fall when the board hired a private investigator to look into some concerns at the facility revealed in an audit. The investigator's report was turned over to the West Virginia State Police, and three former employees of the center were arrested on charges ranging from alteration and deletion of computer data to petit larceny for removing a hard drive from a computer.

All three employees, Tamela Kitzmiller, who served as financial services coordinator; LeeAnn Shreve, a secretary; and Robert Sisk, the former director of the center, had already resigned.

Sisk had taken the position of interim president of Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College in Moorefield and Kitzmiller was employed as a secretary at Keyser High School.

Randy Whetstone was named director of the center after Sisk's resignation in August.

Shortly after the announcement of the arrests, State Superintendent of Schools Steve Paine announced the state was taking over the operation of the school and Ron Grimes, state board consultant, has been put in charge of the facility.

Eastern's board of directors issued a statement of support for Sisk.

Kitzmiller was placed on suspension with pay by the Mineral County Board of Education pending the completion of the investigation and the adjudication of the charges filed in Grant County, according to Mineral County Superintendent of Schools Skip Hackworth.

All three were arraigned in Grant County Magistrate Court on the charges in March.

In other business during the meeting Monday, presided over by vice chairman Alan Sturm, the RESA members acted to have the individual counties assume administrative control of the Safe and DrugFree Schools program.

The program had already received cuts from the federal government and they had just learned there would be more.

Hackworth said Mineral County is one of two counties that was already administering its program.

It was noted that the RESA program administrator, Donna Kuhn, had recently retired and the position is not being refilled.

Hackworth said the amount for the Mineral program, based on enrollment, was $23,000 to $24,000. "With additional cuts it will be hard to keep it going," he said.

He said the county paid for last year's PRIDE survey, a part of the program in which students are questioned concerning their behaviors.

Whetzel said in the smaller counties the money is even less. "It's not enough for a position or do much with," he said.

He said Hardy is looking at joining with Pendleton and Grant to make the program money go further.

The members also approved four part-time appointments, three substitutes and a change in a position in Jefferson County.

Contact Mona Ridder at monaridder@verizon.net.