CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WCHS) — The West Virginia Board of Education announced Wednesday that it would be taking over the school system in Nicholas County following a special circumstances review that found issues with personnel and employment practices.

A report released Wednesday during the board meeting outlined complaints filed against the school system, including allegations of nepotism and sexual misconduct. As a result of the findings, the state board moved to force Nicholas County Superintendent Terrance Beam's resignation by the end of the business day.

Former Fayette County Superintendent Terry George will fill in as interim.

Beam's ouster comes after the West Virginia Board of Education was notified in March that a service employee was a registered sex offender who lost his previous job for having “inappropriate interactions with an underage child.” Records said a 2017 conviction of prohibiting child erotica was the result of a plea agreement and the misdemeanor was disclosed on an employment application.

The application listed the Nicholas County Board of Education president as a professional reference, according to the report. The administrator confirmed the applicant had previously worked for his landscaping company but was unaware he had been listed as a refence.

Records said the man began working for the school system before background check results were received and no evidence of certification for maintenance was provided. The report said the man was employed from June 2024 until March 2025, despite being hired on a 40-day contract as a summer custodian. Interventionalists noted the extension occurred without an additional job posting, application or approval from board members.

It was later discovered the applicant was related to Beam, a relationship the directors of personnel and maintenance were aware of. The superintendent later “gave conflicting answers about whether he had viewed the employment application.”

While the hiring of family is not a violation of policy, employees cannot receive special treatment. Interventionists found employment records that showed a relative of the superintendent was moved through service personnel ranks to manage the cafeteria at Summersville Middle, despite not being the most qualified candidate. According to the report, another relative of the superintendent doesn’t hold a certification required for her teaching position.

Additional employment practices were brought into question as interventionalists found multiple examples of incorrectly or inadequately certified personnel.

Parent volunteers with criminal backgrounds were approved for the last two school years and a teacher from another county was hired “despite having disclosed serious disciplinary action had occurred.”

When asked for employment records, interventionalists said a central office worker stated a previous personnel director destroyed files when leaving the position.