Everything Cassie Porter Got Wrong

The court ruling that reopened Paden City High School serves as a sweeping judicial rebuke of Wetzel County Schools Superintendent Cassandra Porter. The lawyers and witnesses who represented the PCHS community schooled Porter and her legal team in almost every subject, according to the 30-page decision of Circuit Judge Richard Wilson.

“Having found that Superintendent Porter acted unjustifiably so, Paden City High School remains open, and its longevity, future and fate is appropriately an issue for the elected representatives on the Wetzel County Board of Education to determine,” Wilson wrote. He added that the closure of the school was “rash, unreasonable, and will devastate the students, the teachers and staff, and the overall community.”

Here is a recap of everything Porter got wrong in the form of a report card for the top educator in Wetzel County:

She didn’t trust the science
Porter is a school administrator, not a chemist, and it showed in the arguments she made for closing PCHS. Who actually believes you can create an environment of “zero risk” in any situation? Porter is well-educated; even she couldn’t possibly be that naïve. She rejected the counsel of federal scientists who specialize in gauging the health risks of Superfund sites because their expertise didn’t fit her unscientific agenda. She purposefully conflated “screening levels” of chemicals with “allowable levels,” and she gave inordinate weight to the relatively new science of “vapor intrusion.” The judge sided with the scientists, noting that they set “industry standards that govern allowable pollution in indoor air without any increased risk of adverse health effects.” The Environmental Protection Agency in particular “does not require zero contamination of pollutants to be considered safe for human beings,” he added. The judge said the testimony of PCHS’ witnesses was more helpful in understanding the science.
Porter’s grade in chemistry: F

She didn’t understand the limits of her authority
Porter staked her reputation as a rookie superintendent on a very liberal reading of the West Virginia Code. She embraced the few phrases in a 21-word section of the code that gives county superintendents the power to close schools and ignored the words that undermined her goal. The possibility of air pollution from the Superfund site is not “detrimental” to anyone’s health based on current scientific readings, and “temporarily” is an easy concept to grasp if you have an open mind. Porter’s mind was closed to the possibility of a 2024-25 school year at PCHS, so she ignored the obvious meaning of the word. The judge took her to task for it. He said Porter’s “inclusion of the phrase ‘until further notice’ does not indicate that the closure of PCHS was temporary. ‘Until further notice’ operates as a permanent closure until it is not.” Porter also acknowledged under oath only that the indoor air at PCHS “could be” detrimental.
Porter’s grade in reading comprehension: F

She didn’t grasp basic principles of American government
Education bureaucrats like Porter are part of the local executive branch. As appointed officials, they implement the policies of elected school boards, within the confines of laws written by elected legislators. Courts settle disputes between the executive and legislative branches. Porter concluded, apparently on the advice of counsel, that an indirect reference to emergency school closings in a previous West Virginia Supreme Court decision provided enough cover for her to bypass the county board and usurp the state legislature. The judge didn’t buy their legal theory. He said the plain language of the law requires that students face a current threat before a superintendent can close a school, and scientific tests have not shown any such threat at PCHS. Legislative intent also demands that if a threat arises, Porter could close the school “for only as long as conditions that are detrimental to the health and safety of the pupils exists.”
Porter’s grade in civics: F

She didn’t communicate effectively
Based on recent failed attempts to merge PCHS into Magnolia High School, Porter knew that implementing the plan on her own would be controversial. Transparent communications are essential in such situations, but for maximum political effect, she chose the element of surprise. The judge called Porter out for not being forthright about any concerns she had of environmental contamination at PCHS. He also criticized her for waiting until the court hearing to disclose a weeks-old letter from the EPA that undermined her own arguments. Apart from the court case, Porter did seem to take to heart one point of criticism voiced at a June 25 school board meeting. Margaret Sine, a former principal at Paden City Elementary School, said Porter should have provided mental health counseling to help PCHS students cope with the sudden loss of their school. Two days later, Wetzel County Schools offered that service.
Porter’s grade in crisis communications: D

She tried to crush the Wildcats’ spirit
Poor communication was just one of the mistakes in change management that Porter made in trying to close PCHS. She also adamantly refused to address the concerns of the PCHS community. Porter could have merged the student bodies of Paden City and Magnolia high schools for classroom purposes but kept the sports teams and bands separate. PCHS could have kept its identity that way. Instead, Porter tried to force Paden City students to forsake their green and white for the blue and gold of Magnolia. She also had teaching, sports, band and other equipment removed from PCHS, a development that the judge cited as evidence that the school’s closure was not temporary. He ordered that all equipment be returned. The attempt to crush the Wildcats’ spirit was so unwise that the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission settled its part in the case before the judge’s ruling. The commission agreed to let PCHS athletes and band members compete as if the school had never been closed.
Porter’s grade in change management: F

She played education politics a little too well
Porter did score well in one subject matter, proving that she is quite adept at politics. Porter waited until the school board extended her contract by three years to raise concerns about the Superfund site. She closed PCHS after the 2023-24 school year ended to increase her leverage. She lined up the support of the state board of education and a U.S. senator. And she won the favor of local newspapers. Porter also had the tacit backing of the local school board, which did not contest her illegal closure of PCHS. After the court ruled against Porter, Board President Linda Fonner finally acknowledged what everyone already suspected — that she supports Porter’s “role in protecting students’ health, safety and welfare.”
Porter’s grade in political science: B+

Porter’s political skills could help her achieve her goal long term. State education facilities director Micah Whitlow, one of Porter’s witnesses at the court hearing, noted that the state also has the power to close schools during emergencies. Pending an appeal announced shortly after publication of this post, the judge blocked Porter from closing PCHS again herself. Could getting the state involved be her next power play?