CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WCHS) — West Virginia’s State Board of Education approved school closings in Clay, Wood, Preston and Wetzel counties Tuesday as declining enrollment continues to impact funding.
Wetzel County residents packed a state school board meeting trying to block the closings of Paden City High School and Hundred High School, which only has 64 students, already approved by the county BOE.
Multiple residents spoke against the closings, citing damage to local communities, their economies and the students along with a questionable approach.
“It was done in haste with the intention that they had to do something,” Paden City resident Rodney McWilliams said. “In this case the something is the wrong thing.”
One speaker, along with the Wetzel County School Superintendent Cassandra Porter, countered that the drop of 800 students in the past decade had finally caught up with the school system.
“We have the same number of schools that we had 1,000 students ago,” Porter said. “It’s a necessary and strategic result to the challenges by declining enrollment, aging infrastructure and financial restraints.”
Backers of keeping the schools open could muster only one no vote to closings from the board and the ax dropped on both schools.
Another approach would be to change the state school aid formula, allowing money to follow students. Enrollment is down some 10,000 students over the last two years in West Virginia.
“We had great hope that we could we could still delay this process or overturn this process,” McWilliams told Eyewitness News. “We have senators and delegates at the state Legislature who are proposing or planning to propose legislation to revamp the state funding formula for county schools. “
Others, including West Virginia Education Association president Dale Lee, see that unlikely from lawmakers .
“It’s because of the dismantling of public education and that’s coming from across the street, over at the Legislature,” Lee explained. “If we continue to send the same people to do the same thing we’re looking for insanity. “
The Board of Education also approved closing two schools in Preston County, two in Wood County the closing of Clay County Middle School and consolidation into Clay Elementary, Big Otter Elementary and Clay County High School.