The state school board voted Wednesday to close or consolidate six schools in Kanawha County as the district has lost thousands of students in recent years. Across the state, 20 more schools could close next year as student enrollment declines.
West Virginia’s overall population is withering, and so are thousands of students They choose to leave public schools to receive the Hope Scholarshipthe state education savings account program.
School districts, including Kanawha, have financial problems after losing some funding tied to the number of its students. There could be 26 School closures this school year, MetroNews reported.
“We are now at a point where we cannot continue to cut positions without merging or consolidating,” Kanawha County Superintendent Tom Williams told school board members.
“I love children. I want them to get the best education they can get and unfortunately I only have X amount of dollars to do that and I have to make it work.”
Parents and school board members expressed concerns about larger class sizes, longer bus routes and communities losing schools.
“During this time of declining enrollment, county education officials must make very difficult decisions,” said Nancy White, president of the West Virginia Board of Education. “Today it is difficult, it is painful, but it is necessary. Districts cannot maintain their current capacity and simultaneously lose two, three or 4,000 students from their public schools. That’s exactly what’s happening.”
Williams said Kanawha County has lost 5,000 students over the last 11 years, a $30 million decrease in funding. More than 1,200 students have used the Hope Scholarship.
That of the district Surplus levy did not cover the necessary costs.
Williams said he will lose 39 school positions at the end of this year due to continued declines in student enrollment.
“When I made these difficult decisions to merge or consolidate, I first had to look for schools where it could be done without significant cost to the district,” Williams said.
The board approved a plan to close and consolidate Belle Elementary School, Mary Ingles Elementary School, Malden Elementary School and Midland Trail Elementary School. A novel school will be built at the site of the former DuPont Junior High, which was demolished. McKinley Middle School will close and merge with Hayes Middle School. East Bank Middle School will be closed and consolidated into DuPont Middle School.
The age of the buildings was also a factor in the consolidation Micah Whitlow, director of the WVDE Office of School Facilities. School buildings in West Virginia are, on average, 50 years aged.
“The average age of schools being talked about closing across the state is 63,” he said. “While the facility doesn’t give a complete picture, it is a good indicator of when something needs to be moved or perhaps some upgrades need to be made.”
Before the vote, Republican Senators Mike Stuart, R-Kanawha, and Rupie Phillips, R-Logan, sent letters for others to read on their behalf expressing their dissatisfaction with proposals to close and consolidate schools.
“While I fully understand that these decisions are driven by fiscal responsibility and the need to address funding issues, I must emphasize that the primary reason our public schools exist is to meet the educational needs of our students be allowed to lose sight of,” Phillips wrote.
Paul Hardesty, a member of the state school board, contradicted her statements, saying: Her words rang hollow after a series of laws were passed to expand school choice, including the nation’s most comprehensive education savings account program. More than 9,000 students were awarded the Hope Scholarship this school year; The program provides families with approximately $4,400 per student in tax dollars to employ for private schools, homeschooling and more.
“If you want smaller schools, change the funding formula” hardness said. “It’s not fair for people in elected office to manipulate other people’s lives by saying they want to do one thing and then do the opposite. They have created class warfare in public education.”
School board member Debra Sullivan said lawmakers could evaluate the state’s current funding formula, which allows the state’s contribution to go to the student – meaning the school loses it when a child leaves school to to employ the Hope scholarship. Gov.-elect Patrick Morrisey, a Republican, said wants to expand the school offering in the state.
“I hope that our legislators really look at what can be done to support and put money into our public schools, since over 90% of school-age children in West Virginia attend public schools,” she said. “This is the future of our state, our leaders, our business people, our teachers, our parents. So we have to put our money on the horses that have to run.”
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