Board of Education
Meetings of the Raleigh County Board of Education are scheduled on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 5:30 p.m. in the Munson Hall conference room at the board's administrative offices, 105 Adair Street, Beckley, WV.
The board recognizes the inherent right of every citizen to attend and observe proceedings of the board of education. All meetings shall be open to the public; however, the board may hold an executive session and exclude the public when a closed session is required for reasons outlined in West Virginia Code 6-9A-4. The board welcomes input and participation by the public in its meetings. At the same time, the board encourages citizens to work with the administration to try to resolve problems and/or differences.
Persons who desire to address the board must arrange with the superintendent to do so. Citizens should call the superintendent's office two weeks in advance of a regular meeting to secure a place on the written agenda. Citizens may also register to address the board beginning 30 minutes prior to each regular meeting. Citizens addressing the board at a regular meeting will be allocated five (5) minutes per speaker.
Board Meetings
Board Members
Larry Ford, President
email: larrydford@gmail.com
Larry has been a resident of Shady Spring for 71 years. He graduated from Shady Spring High School, Beckley College, and Bluefield State College. He is married to Pamela Brammer Ford.
Larry served in the Army for 3 years and was Honorably Discharged in 1974. He served in the U.S. Army Reserves for 20 years and retired Sergeant First Class (SFC) in 2003 after serving tours in the United States, Korea, Japan, and Germany.
Larry enjoys working with the community. Past endeavors include serving as a former Beckley Area Foundation President and board member and board member of the United Way of Southern West Virginia, and a trustee at Perry Memorial United Methodist Church.
Currently, he is President of the Shady Spring High School Alumni Scholarship Fund through the Beckley Area Foundation and the Shady Spring High School Scholarship Fund where he works raising scholarship dollars for Shady graduates. He is a board member of Shepherds Table, a non-profit organization that provides meals to those who ask.
Richard V. Snuffer II, Vice-President
email: rvsnuffer2@yahoo.com
Rick is a life-long resident of Raleigh County, graduating from Trap Hill High School in 1973. He attended WVU, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BS in Animal Science. After graduation, he taught Vo-AG in Fayette County, teaching landscaping and horticulture for 2 years.
Rick was elected and served on the Raleigh County Board of Education for 14 years, serving 10 years as President before resigning in July of 2016 to care for his ailing parent. Rick worked for USDA for 38 years, retiring as the State Executive Director overseeing 100 plus employees and managing budgets over 20 million annually.
He is managing partner of Snuffer Farm LLC, a state-awarded cattle farm enterprise that has been in his family for over 130 years. He is the Past President to the Beckley Raleigh County Convention Center and founding member of the Raleigh County Farm Bureau. He was inducted into the WV Agriculture Hall of Fame in 2018 for his contribution to WV agriculture. Rick and his wife, Peggy, live on the family farm at Surveyor and are blessed with 6 children and 12 grandchildren.
Dr. Charlotte Hutchens
email: chutchen@k12.wv.us
Charlotte was elected to the Raleigh County Board of Education in 2014.
She is a graduate of West Virginia University with an Ed.D. in Education Administration. She retired from Raleigh County Schools in 2012 with 38 years of experience in education. During the 38 years, she was a teacher, principal, supervisor, director and assistant superintendent. She served as Superintendent of Raleigh County Schools for the last 12 years of her career. She is married to Roger Hutchens and they have one daughter, Heather.
Marie Hamrick
email: mhamrick@k12.wv.us
Marie was appointed to the Raleigh County Board of Education in October 2017 and was elected to serve a four-year term in May 2018. She retired from the Raleigh County Board of Education in January 2017 with forty years of service. She taught second, fifth and sixth grades at Lincoln Elementary School, kindergarten at the Piney Oaks Early Childhood Center and Bradley Elementary School. Marie was the first elementary school counselor in Raleigh County before she became the counselor at Sophia Junior High. She finished her career as the counselor at Independence Middle School.
Mrs. Hamrick is a life-long resident of Raleigh County and is married to John Hamrick. They have three granddaughters - Baylei, Kennedy, and Rylei and two great granddaughters, Lynnlei and Ellei.
Marsha K. Smith
Email: mrksmith@k12.wv.us
Marsha is a lifelong resident of Raleigh County. She is a graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School, Concord College (Concord University), and obtained an MA +45 in Educational Administration from WVCOGS (Marshall University). She previously served on the Raleigh County Board of Education from 2016-2020.
She retired from Raleigh County Schools in 2014 after 33 years of service. Marsha served as a teacher, an assistant principal, and principal. The majority of her career was at Trap Hill Middle School. The last six years of her tenure were as principal of Park Middle School and Woodrow Wilson High School.
Marsha co-founded Beckley Dream Center in 1994. She is currently serving as the co-director.