School Board Erupts Over Missing Coach Travis Turner’s Management

Concerned parent blasts Virginia school board for alleged mishandling of missing high school football coach Travis Turner.

In an open letter posted on social media on Tuesday, December 9, Stephen Murray responded after the Wise County School Board did not allow public comment at their meeting the night before, the group’s first gathering since Turner, 46, disappeared on Nov. 20.

“It was a silence I encountered that felt familiar,” Murray wrote. “We are dealing with two predators over the last two years that have been recruited, empowered and strengthened by the Wise County School System.”

In addition to Union High School football coach and physical education teacher Turner – who was charged with five counts of child pornography and five counts of using a computer to solicit a minor – a former Union High teacher. Timothy Lee Meador He was charged with three counts and pleaded guilty to two counts of liberating a child in 2023, serving 15 months in prison and being banned from school.

“It’s shocking that the school board responsible for hiring these people chose to close their first meeting with the public, after the Travis Turner charges were released,” Murray continued. The message I received last night said, ‘There is nothing I can see here.’ I don’t come from a place of needing to be exposed through an investigation, rather, a place of needing to be accountable and to communicate with the people who are responsible for protecting our children while they are still in school.”

The Wise County School Board will meet again on Jan. 12, where Murray said he hopes to address this “horrible situation.”

“My anger comes from a place of not wanting to destroy the system but to strengthen it,” he wrote. “I want us to work together to help end this toxic culture that often puts the needs of our children last and prioritizes the dignity of certain people just because they come from a famous family in a small town in the mountains. I know you can all do better. That’s why I’m taking time out tonight to write this.”

Murray concluded, “I’ll see you all in January.”

Wise County Public Schools released a statement to News Channel 11 in response to the incident, saying they are “aware of the complaints that have been made public.”

“The department takes all matters affecting student safety seriously and follows all required reporting rules, legal obligations, and established procedures,” the statement said. “Certain matters, including personnel matters and ongoing law enforcement work, are confidential under Virginia law. As a result, the division cannot provide additional information or comment at this time. The school board conducts its work in accordance with Virginia’s open meeting laws. When closed sessions are held, they are limited to purposes permitted by law, and no final meeting is held unless a report is given.”

Turner, who has worked at Union High since 2011, was last seen by family members walking into the woods behind her home with a gun.

The United States Marshals Service and the FBI joined the search for Turner on Dec. 1, which has used K-9 units, drones and a helicopter, but so far has come up empty.