Another voice corroborates Heston’s claims; former Marion BOE president provides insight
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FAIRMONT - During his time on the Marion County Board of Education, George Boyles was a longtime supporter of Donna Heston, the district's now embattled superintendent.
He was board president when he stepped down in June after deciding not to seek reelection.
Before he left, though, he gave an endorsement to Heston, voting to extend her contract three years.
Fellow board member Tom Dragich did the same.
They were outvoted, however.
Donna Costello, Kevin Rogers and Pastor James Saunders, now the current president of the board, didn't want to renew at all, even.
And it wasn't about job performance, Heston alleged in a suit filed against the trio earlier this month in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia.
It was about perceived sexual orientation.
Heston said she was targeted by the trio after repeated allegations of an intimate relationship between her and Kristin DeVaul, the district's administrative assistant for human resources.
Both women denied the allegations and have since brought a lawsuit, saying they were singled out unjustly.
In the Northern District on Saturday, both filed an amended complaint.
The new document now charges Saunders, Costello and Rogers with deliberately trying to terminate Heston's contract - solely based on what the plaintiffs say were false claims to begin with.
And Boyles is providing the backup for the new go-around.
In a sworn affidavit, he said the campaign against Heston and DeVaul goes back to 2024, after Heston shared vacation photos with the board.
Another Marion Schools employee facing a disciplinary action, alleged that DeVaul offered a job promotion, in exchange for a tryst with her and Heston.
Saunders, Costello and Rogers didn't approve of what they described as Heston's "lifestyle," the former BOE president said.
"We need to get rid of her," Boyles remembered them saying, as he recounted in his affidavit.
They couldn't though, Boyles said. Not for that reason.
Still, there were directives in executive session, again with the trio pushing for them, Boyles said, to restrict DeVaul from leaving her office during the day - even for meetings and workshops.
Contention between the superintendent and the majority of the board in the midst of it all promoted the state Department of Education over the spring to appoint a liaison to help oversee the district this academic year.
Meanwhile, Heston, who was granted a one-year extension, will serve through next July 1 at a salary of $164,000.
Saunders, Costello and Rogers, who all received summonses as part of the complaint, have 21 days from Saturday’s filing date to respond.
Morgantown attorney Ryan Umina, who is representing Heston and DeVaul, said in a statement Tuesday that he appreciated that Boyles volunteered - not under subpoena - to offer insight to the saga.
"His account corroborates the allegations in both complaints and sheds further light on what has occurred behind closed doors in Marion County," Umina said.