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Kanawha school departures continue
By Eric Eyre
STAFF WRITER

[Leftmost column] Kanawha County Schools Associate Superintendent Charlene Byrd, who twice fell a vote short of becoming interim superintendent in recent months, resigned Thursday. Byrd will become a consultant to West Virginia State College and serve as acting director of the college's National Center for Human Relations, a race relations think tank.
Byrd becomes the second top administrator in the Kanawha County school system to resign this week, the fourth administrator to leave in the past two months. The school system's attorney, Greg Bailey, resigned Monday after accepting a job at a Charleston law firm. Byrd, whose last day will be Oct. 31, said recent friction between the administration and school board was not a factor in her decision to leave. She also said she was not angry that school board members did not appoint her interim superinten-.
[Bolded Text] Kanawha County schools Associate Superintendent Charlene Byrd resigned Thursday to become a consultant to West Virginia State College and serve as acting director of the college's National Center for Human Relations, a race relations think tank.
[Second Column from the Left] -dent.
As an associate superintendent, Byrd worked to improve cultural diversity in Kanawha County schools. She will continue that role in her new position. "I'll work to remove barriers to communication," said Byrd, who taught English at the college in the 1950s. "I've had 40 years in public education. I'm just going back to where I started." Since 1996, Byrd has served as president of the board of directors at the National Center for Human Relations. The center has applied for a grant that would pay for Byrd's new position at West Vir-
[Third Column from the Left] ginia State. Meantime, Byrd will work as a consultant for the center's research and development division. The recent wave of resignations in the Kanawha County school system's central office was sparked by former schools Superintendent Jorea Marple's decision to step down on Aug 4. Marple now works as principal at Garnet Adult Education Center. Byrd had applied to replace Marple and serve as interim superintendent for four months. By a 3-2 vote, the school board hired Capital High School Principal John Clendenen for the job.
[Rightmost Column] School board members Cheryle Hall and Bill Raglin voted for Byrd. Board members John Luoni, Pete Thaw, and Betty Jarvis supported Clendenen. Two weeks later, Clendenen announced he was resigning. By another 3-2 vote, the board hired Area Assistant Superintendent Ron Duerring as interim superintendent. That time, Luoni, Hall, and Raglin voted for Duerring, while Thaw and Jarvis supported Byrd. Four administrators remain from Marple's eight-person management team. They are: Doug Walters, staff development director; Chris Smith, business manager; Harry Reustle, treasurer; and George Beckett, an administrative assistant over human resources and transportation. Prior to Byrd's and Bailey's resignations, former Deputy Superintendent Jack McClanaham and Assistant Superintendent Rebecca Goodwin resigned from their positions in August. 
To contact staff writer Eric Eyre, call 348-5194

The Charleston Gazette, Friday, September 25, 1998