The state school board approved another round of school closures in West Virginia on Wednesday after district leaders reiterated a similar problem: Student enrollment is degenerating rapidly and causing financial hardship.
Seven schools in Clay, Preston, Wetzel and Wood counties will close in the next few years. Affected students will be relocated to existing schools.
“Most towns die after closing a high school,” said Charles Goff, mayor of the town of Hundred in Wetzel County. He spoke to board members in Charleston before the vote. “[Towns] They lose their incorporated status, lose elected officials in the city and it leads to the closure of fire departments and the revocation of city charters. This also includes the loss of EMS. We are an hour from the hospital and fire and emergency medical services are vital to our community.”
This year has seen a wave of planned school closures as districts face budget holes caused by degenerating enrollment. West Virginia’s overall population is degenerating. Roughy 4,000 students dropped out of public schools this year; Some of these students left to attend private and charter schools or to be homeschooled.
Under the current school funding formula, districts receive state grants based on the number of students.
Fifty-three schools have closed in the last five years, and counties 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 is a difficult time and the issues facing the districts are financial and bring us to this day,” said state school board member Debra Sullivan. “We need to focus on strengthening our public school system.”
More than 10,000 students across the state have chosen to apply it this year the Hope Scholarshipthe state’s comprehensive education savings account program, which gives approximately $4,400 per student in tax dollars that families can apply for private schools, homeschooling and more.
Wood County has more than 300 students using 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 scholarship, which represents $157,000 in state funding no longer available to the county.
Several members of the West Virginia Board of Education have called out the GOP-leaning Legislature to overhaul the state’s school funding formula. Gov.-elect Patrick Morrisey, a Republican, said plans to expand school offerings in the state where the immense majority of students in the destitute state attend public schools.
“The state needs to revise the funding formula for these schools. This hasn’t been done in many years,” said Victor Gabriel, vice president of the state school board. “We just don’t have the people and the money, and it’s getting worse. Every time we lose students, we lose dollars.”
The districts are obliged to maintain a balanced budget.
“We are a poor district, so we have to follow the state aid formula. Last year we reduced our workforce by around 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 county’s only middle school, due to degenerating enrollment and the building’s age. Sixth grade students attend primary schools; Seventh and eighth grade students attend Clay High School. It will come into force at the end of the 2026/27 school year.
The county has fewer than 8,000 residents, down from 10,000 a few years ago, and has seen a 31% decline in student enrollment since 2016. More
“That’s several million dollars that we lost. This is significant,” Dobbins said.
School leaders say school closures are necessary for financial reasons
Like Dobbins, Preston, Wetzel and Wood superintendents said funding issues were the main reason for the closures. Some of the schools that are closing will require millions of dollars in repairs that don’t make sense for older buildings.
Wetzel County Superintendent Cassie Porter said the closures of Hundred High School and Paden City High School are necessary as the county’s population continues to decline. The district lost 800 students.
She said her district cannot offer the tough courses required at all high schools in the current situation.
“Our test results are very, very low. We think 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 compact school gave him the opportunity to participate in many different learning activities. He asked the board to reconsider closing his school.
“Just this year I was part of the culineering team that placed first in the state. In a larger school it would be much harder to get these opportunities as more students compete for limited spots,” he said. “At Hundred, every student has the opportunity to shine.
The board voted to consolidate Hundred High School into Valley High School. Paden City High School, which was already facing a possible transient closure for environmental reasonsis consolidated into Magnolia High School.
In Preston County, Superintendent Brad Martin said Fellowsville Elementary School in Tunnelton has seen a 50.8% decline in student enrollment over the past 10 years. There are 59 students enrolled at the school this year. The school needs $2 million in repairs; Martin said the deal would save about $684,000.
Statewide enrollment has declined due to a decline in local coal mining jobs, Martin said, which has led to a decline in state funding for schools. County residents decided against approving two different excessive levies that could have brought in additional money.
“Starting this year, the district will have to eliminate 12 professional positions and 16 service positions. “We made significant job cuts last year,” Martin said.
Fellowsville will be integrated into South Preston School at the end of this school year.
The board also approved consolidating Rowlesburg School, an elementary school also in Preston County, into Aurora School at the end of this school year due to degenerating enrollment and increasing building maintenance costs.
Fairplains Elementary School in Wood County will close at the end of the 2024-2025 school year and be integrated into Martin Elementary School.
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