Truesee's Daily Wonder

Upshur BOE fires principal

Gary Mallonee

The Inter Mo

Staff Writer

After weeks of suspensions and speculation, the Upshur County Board of Education voted Tuesday morning to fire Dr. Brenda Wells from her position as principal at Buckhannon-Upshur High School.

On July 8, Wells told The Inter-Mountain that Superintendent of Schools Scott Lampinen had fired her two days before and that the board would later vote on his recommendation.

During the meeting Tuesday, board members went into an executive session to discuss the issue. Lampinen's recommendation was to suspended Wells without pay July 6 through July 21 and to terminate her contract on July 21. After a short discussion, the board voted unanimously for the superintendent's recommendation.

Wells had been suspended in May for 10 days until the board could make its decision. The day before graduation, she was suspended for five more days without pay.

Wells told The Inter-Mountain that the incident that led to her suspension involved a fight in the cafeteria where several students were in "a dog pile."

"While attempting to stop the food fight, I observed two boys fighting and I went over in an attempt to break up the fight," Wells said. "I saw everyone was laughing and to relieve the tension I jumped on. I didn't get 2 inches off the floor, and I probably looked like a huge beach ball and I was down and up before you could say one."

In other action, the board also hired Bill Struble as the new head football coach at Buckhannon-Upshur High School. Struble had resigned after last season at West Virginia Wesleyan College where he had been the head coach for more than 20 years. Struble replaces Dave Chipps, who resigned last month.

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B-UHS principal says she was fired

Gary Mallonee

The InterMountain

Staff Writer

After weeks of speculation and suspensions, Buckhannon-Upshur High School Principal Dr. Brenda Wells says she has been fired. School officials are releasing little information saying only that a vote will take place at the next Board of Education meeting later this month.

On Tuesday, The Inter-Mountain received an e-mail from Wells explaining a change in location for a U-CARE meeting. Wells said the meeting would not be at B-UHS because she has been fired. "As of Monday, Scott Lampinen, the superintendent of school, basically fired me," the e-mail states. "Of course it has to go to the board, first, but since they have only heard the complainers so far, plus other reasons, I do not feel a single one of them wants to hear the truth."

Wells said she and her attorney met Monday with Lampinen, Assistant Superintendent Roy Petit and the attorney for the Upshur County Schools when she was told she was fired.

Petit was the only administrator from the board office to return a call to The Inter-Mountain. He said the board will have to vote on the issue at its July 21 meeting before it is official.

In a phone conversation with The Inter-Mountain, Dr. Wells said, "I was suspended for 10 days with pay so they could decide what to do about an incident that lasted a few seconds that was on video. I believe it was on purpose to keep me from attending senior activities. At the end of the 10 days just one day before graduation, I was told they had decided to suspend me for five days without pay."

Wells described the incident as "a dog pile" that took place in the cafeteria. "While attempting to stop the food fight, I observed two boys fighting and I went over in an attempt to break up the fight," Wells said. "I saw everyone was laughing and to relieve the tension I jumped on. I didn't get 2 inches off the floor, and I probably looked like a huge beach ball and I was down and up before you could say one."

Wells added that she feels she is a victim of a personality difference and she was promoting the best practices of today.

"School principals need to build relationships with the kids and have fun," Wells said. "This way students will better accept you. I have eight years of administration experience, six of them in high school and when the kids like you and respect you they will behave better and will understand you better when you have to discipline them. "

Wells said problems experienced at the recent B-UHS graduation could have been prevented if they had not pulled the head principal off campus and if the principal with the most experience with high school students would have been there.

"I do not blame my assistants for the problems at graduation," she said. "I almost have more high school administrative experience than all the assistants put together.

"It is my understanding after I was pulled from campus the school became chaotic," she said. "The faculty was told at a meeting that all three assistants principals would be head principals. I also understand that the practice for senior activities was also chaotic.

"I do not blame the senior sponsors," Wells said. "The administrator who could have helped them the most was pulled off campus. It was of the upmost importance for me to be there. Buccaneers are worth whatever it takes."

Wells said that some of the teachers fought the changes she was trying to put in place.

"I currently have filed grievances and anticipate future litigation," Wells said