This article was originally published in West Virginia Watch.
The state school board on Wednesday approved a new round of school closures in West Virginia after county supervisors reiterated a similar problem: student enrollment is rapidly declining and causing financial problems.
Seven schools in Clay, Preston, Wetzel and Wood Counties will close in the coming years. The affected students will be transferred to existing schools.
“Most towns die after a high school closes,” said Charles Goff, mayor of the town of Hundred in Wetzel County. He spoke to board members in Charleston ahead of the vote. “[Towns] They lose their corporate status, lose elected officials in the city, and it leads to fire departments closing and city charters being revoked. That includes losing EMS. We are an hour from the hospital, and fire and ambulance services are crucial in our community.”
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There has been a wave of proposed school closures this year as counties face budget holes due to the loss of student populations. West Virginia’s overall population is declining. This year, about 4,000 students left public schools; Some of those students left to attend private and charter schools or to be homeschooled.
Under the current school funding formula, counties receive state funding based on the number of students.
Closing campuses: How much money does it actually save school districts?
Fifty-three schools have closed in the past five years, and provinces have proposed or approved closing 25 schools this year. In November, the state school board voted to close or consolidate six schools in Kanawha County as the district has lost thousands of students in recent years.
“It’s a difficult time and the issues counties are facing are financial in nature and continue to take us to this day,” said Debra Sullivan, a state school board member. “We need to focus on strengthening our public school system.”
More than 10,000 students statewide this year chose to use the Hope Scholarship, the state’s comprehensive education savings account program that gives about $4,400 per student in tax dollars to families to use for private school, homeschooling and more.
Wood County has more than 300 students who took advantage of the Hope Scholarship this year, which meant the district did not receive $1 million in state funding because those children were no longer counted in the enrollment-based formula. In Clay County, dozens of students are taking advantage of the grant, which amounts to $157,000 in state funding that is no longer available to the county.
Several members of the West Virginia Board of Education have called on the Republican Legislature to overhaul the state’s school funding formula. Governor-elect Patrick Morrisey, a Republican, said he plans to expand school choice in the state, where the vast majority of the poor state’s students attend public schools.
“The state needs to revise the funding formula for these schools. It hasn’t been done in years,” said Victor Gabriel, vice president of the state school board. “We just don’t have the people or the money, and it’s getting worse. Every time we lose students, we lose dollars.”
Provinces are obliged to balance their budgets.
“We are a poor province, so we have to live within the state aid formula. Last year we reduced our workforce by approximately 10%26 [people]. This includes positions paid with COVID dollars,” Clay County Superintendent Philip Dobbins told board members.
The board voted to close Clay County Middle School, the only high school in the county, due to the declining student population and the age of the building. Sixth grade students go to primary schools; Seventh and eighth grade students attend Clay High School. It will come into effect from the end of the 2026-2027 school year.
The province has fewer than 8,000 inhabitants, compared to 10,000 a few years ago, and since 2016 the number of students has decreased by 31%. More
“We’re a few million dollars short. That is significant,” Dobbins said.
Superintendents say school closures are necessary for finances
Like Dobbins, superintendents from Preston, Wetzel and Wood said funding issues were the primary reason for the closures. Some schools that will close will require millions of dollars in repairs that would not make sense for older buildings.
Wetzel County Superintendent Cassie Porter said the closures of Hundred High School and Paden City High School were necessary as the county’s population continued to decline. The district has lost 800 students.
She said as it stands, her district cannot provide the rigorous coursework required in all high schools.
“Our test scores are very, very low. In our view, we need to pool our resources,” Porter said.
Several parents, students and community members attended the meeting to voice their opposition to the closures.
Austin Hayes, a freshman at Hundred High School, said his small school has given him the opportunity to participate in many different learning activities. He asked the board to reconsider closing his school.
“This year I was part of the culinary team that took first place in the state. At a larger school, these opportunities would be much harder to come by as more students compete for a limited number of places,” he said. “At Hundred, every student gets the chance to shine.
The board voted to consolidate Hundred High School into Valley High School. Paden City High School, which was already facing a possible temporary closure due to environmental concerns, will be consolidated into Magnolia High School.
In Preston County, Schools Superintendent Brad Martin said Fellowsville Elementary School in Tunnelton has seen a 50.8% decline in enrollment over the past decade. There are 59 students enrolled at the school this year. The school needs $2 million in repairs; Martin said closing it would save about $684,000.
Enrollment across the district is down, while the number of local coal mining jobs is declining, Martin said, leading to a drop in state funding for schools. County residents chose not to approve two different excess taxes that could have raised additional money.
“Based on this year, the district will have to eliminate twelve professional positions and sixteen service positions. Last year we cut our positions substantially,” said Martin.
Fellowsville will be merged into South Preston School at the end of this school year.
The board also approved the consolidation of Rowlesburg School, an elementary school also in Preston County, into Aurora School at the end of this school year due to a decline in student enrollment and the price tag of building maintenance.
Fairplains Elementary School in Wood County will close and become Martin Elementary School at the end of the 2024-2025 school year.
West Virginia Watch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. West Virginia Watch maintains editorial independence. If you have any questions, please contact editor Leann Ray: info@westvirginiawatch.com.
