BY KYLE LOVERN
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
The filing period for the 2026 Primary Election concluded Jan. 31, with several persons vying for seats on the Mingo County Board of Education.
There will be four available non-partisan seats up for grabs. No more than two members shall be elected from the same magisterial district.
Current member Deanna Wellman, from the Kermit Harvey District and who was finishing out the two years remaining on former BOE member James Ed Baisen’s term, is seeking to gain her first four-year term on the board in the May Primary election.
Former BOE member Sabrina Rose Grace, who is in the Williamson District, was a late filer and is seeking to regain a seat back on the BOE.
Incumbents Tom Slone, John Warren Preece and Brayden Goff are not seeking reelection.
Goff, who was first elected to a four-year term on the BOE in 2024, has decided to seek the 34th House of Delegates District office, which is being vacated by incumbent Mark Dean.
Running for one of the four available BOE seats includes:
- Jade Fallon Brumfield (Kermit Harvey District)
- Ashley Hatfield (Williamson District)
- Gretchen Hensley-Mahon (Magnolia District)
- Justin Kirk (Lee District)
- Eric Jerome Roberts (Magnolia District)
- Rae Siggers (Williamson District)
- Sabrina Rose Grace (Williamson District)
- Deanna Wellman (Kermit-Harvey District)
Currently, the state controls the Mingo County School District. This is the third time throughout the year that the state has taken control of the school system.
The intervention was approved March 12, 2025, following a special-circumstances review by the West Virginia Department of Education’s Office of Accountability, which found serious governance and procedural issues.