No action was taken following a closed session during a special-called Charlotte County School Board Meeting on last Tuesday.

The school board met in closed session for more than an hour, discussing a personnel matter involving coaching recommendations and a Public-Private Education and Infrastructure Act (PPEA) proposal.

The meeting follows a decision by the school board on a 6-1 closed-session vote in July to not approve the coaching stipend of J.R. Allen — the Randolph-Henry High School (R-H) head varsity baseball coach and Central Middle School (CMS) head golf coach.

Vice Chairman Larry Fannon wouldn’t comment on the issues discussed during the closed session meeting or on the decision regarding Allen.

In a previous interview, Division Superintendent Dr. Nancy Leonard detailed the process in which coaches in the school system hold their positions each year.
“All personnel deliberations for offering a contract or stipend by the school board are made in closed session which reflects the Code of Virginia requirements,” she said. “Therefore, the basis for not offering of a contract cannot be disclosed. School board members have the option, although not required, of disclosing their own personal reasons for not extending a contract, but they cannot report out of closed session and speak on behalf of the board as a collective nor release information regarding closed session discussions.”
Allen had been a coach within Randolph-Henry High School’s baseball program for 16 years — including the past five as head coach — and has served as the CMS golf coach for the past 7-8 years.

Allen led the Randolph-Henry varsity baseball team, Statesmen, to an 88-30 record during his five-year term as head coach. The team has won 20 games in three of the past five years.
Enjoying perennial success in the postseason, the Statesmen won three conference championships, two James River District titles, made one final-four state appearance and four regional appearances under Allen.

Allen has accrued three conference Coach of the Year awards, and eight of the players he has coached have gone on to play at the college level. Three of those players are at NCAA Division I schools on scholarship.
Three of his players were selected to compete among the best high school players in the state at the Virginia High School Coaches Association All-Star game, and two of them were named MVP of the game.

The next regular school board meeting will take place Sept. 12 at Bacon District Elementary School at 7 p.m.