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WV State Board of Education Reaffirms Superintendent Firing

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West Virginia's Board of Education has affirmed its firing of Jorea Marple as state schools superintendent.

The board voted 6-2 Thursday after public comment sharply critical of Marple's ouster. Nineteen people stood to praise Marple, denounce her firing or call for her reinstatement.

Thursday's vote followed a 90-minute closed door session by the board. Member Lloyd Jackson joined the five who had voted to fire Marple at a Nov. 15 meeting.

The board also met privately to discuss hiring a new superintendent, but took no action on that publicly. It instead plans to return to that topic in December.

Concerns about whether the board had followed the state open meetings law on Nov. 15 prompted Thursday's do-over.  A pending legal challenge asks the Supreme Court to void Marple's firing under the open meetings law.