Robert Sisk, charged Monday with deleting computer files and petit larceny, is still interim president of Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College in Moorefield.
Robert Sisk, charged Monday with deleting computer files and petit larceny, is still interim president of Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College in Moorefield.
Peggy Hawse, chairwoman of Eastern's Board of Governors, said Tuesday her board selected Sisk as interim president based on his 32 successful years at South Branch Career and Technical Center in Petersburg.
Hawse added that Sisk has done a great job since he started at Eastern in July. She said Eastern's board would allow the legal process to run its course.
"I have full confidence the facts will come out," she said.
The misdemeanor charges against Sisk are tied to his leadership at South Branch, where State Police allege he and former employees Tamela Kitzmiller and LeeAnn Shreve altered or deleted computer data. Sisk was also charged with petit larceny for allegedly removing a hard drive from the computer in his office at South Branch.
Jim Skidmore, chancellor of the Community and Technical College System of West Virginia, wrote in an e-mail that he spoke with Hawse Tuesday morning and "she indicated that Mr. Sisk would remain as interim president at this time."
Dreama Kelly, an executive secretary at Eastern, asked if a reporter would like to speak with Sisk. When she returned to the phone moments later, she referred comment to an attorney.
"We're in the middle of criminal proceedings and it's our policy to not comment," said Morgantown attorney Jacqueline Sikora, Sisk's lawyer. Sikora is an associate with the law firm Gianola, Barnum, Wigal & London.
Shreve, a secretary, and Kitzmiller, South Branch's one-time financial services coordinator, both resigned from the center last summer, West Virginia State Police Trooper D.G. Lahman said Monday.
Kitzmiller did not immediately return a phone message left at a listed number Tuesday.
The charges come after independent auditors last fall found personal purchases on a state credit card, numerous improper payments and missing receipts, invoices and fundraising records.
The council that oversees South Branch launched an investigation last fall after Sisk's replacement, Randy Whetstone, discovered that a computer was missing from his office, police said Monday.
The missing computer prompted the council to hire a Kentucky-based auditing firm to further investigate the center's 2006-07 academic year, Lahman said.
Robert Sisk, charged Monday with deleting computer files and petit larceny, is still interim president of Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College in Moorefield.
Peggy Hawse, chairwoman of Eastern's Board of Governors, said Tuesday her board selected Sisk as interim president based on his 32 successful years at South Branch Career and Technical Center in Petersburg.
Hawse added that Sisk has done a great job since he started at Eastern in July. She said Eastern's board would allow the legal process to run its course.
"I have full confidence the facts will come out," she said.
The misdemeanor charges against Sisk are tied to his leadership at South Branch, where State Police allege he and former employees Tamela Kitzmiller and LeeAnn Shreve altered or deleted computer data. Sisk was also charged with petit larceny for allegedly removing a hard drive from the computer in his office at South Branch.
Jim Skidmore, chancellor of the Community and Technical College System of West Virginia, wrote in an e-mail that he spoke with Hawse Tuesday morning and "she indicated that Mr. Sisk would remain as interim president at this time."
Dreama Kelly, an executive secretary at Eastern, asked if a reporter would like to speak with Sisk. When she returned to the phone moments later, she referred comment to an attorney.
"We're in the middle of criminal proceedings and it's our policy to not comment," said Morgantown attorney Jacqueline Sikora, Sisk's lawyer. Sikora is an associate with the law firm Gianola, Barnum, Wigal & London.
Shreve, a secretary, and Kitzmiller, South Branch's one-time financial services coordinator, both resigned from the center last summer, West Virginia State Police Trooper D.G. Lahman said Monday.
Kitzmiller did not immediately return a phone message left at a listed number Tuesday.
The charges come after independent auditors last fall found personal purchases on a state credit card, numerous improper payments and missing receipts, invoices and fundraising records.
The council that oversees South Branch launched an investigation last fall after Sisk's replacement, Randy Whetstone, discovered that a computer was missing from his office, police said Monday.
The missing computer prompted the council to hire a Kentucky-based auditing firm to further investigate the center's 2006-07 academic year, Lahman said.
Missing financial records, among other things noted in the audit, led the council to later hire a private investigator to investigate any criminal wrongdoing.
The investigator, a former Maryland State Police trooper, determined that a substantial amount, if not all information on two computers had been deleted and records were not available, according to a State Police news release.
The records, which had been on computers used by Shreve and Kitzmiller, included financial transactions detailing the center's expenditures.
State Superintendent of Schools Steve Paine praised members of the South Branch council for their response on the matter.
Paine sees two concerns at hand for the state Board of Education. First, they'll hear from Kenna Seal, director of the state Office of Education Performance Audits, about an inspection his staff conducted at South Branch in March.
Paine also believes that in light of the State Police charges, an immediate financial audit might be necessary.
Lahman said Monday that State Police still have considerable work to do on their investigation, and added that police do not know what all of the missing files are.
"We will cooperate with the investigation in any way we can," Paine said.
He said recommendations would be made when the board meets next week.
"Hopefully we will have a full report that will describe the conditions at the school," Seal said.
Auditors talked to every South Branch teacher and other staff members about the school's expectations, instructional strategies, lesson plans, finances, leadership and more, Seal said.
To contact staff writer Davin White, use e-mail or call 348-1254.
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