NEW MARTINSVILLE, W.Va. — The Wetzel County Board of Education will hold school closing hearings in the weeks ahead to take the required steps to close two of the county’s four high schools.
The School Board in a special meeting in New Martinsville Monday agreed to pursue the plan put forward by Superintendent Cassie Porter. The plan would close Hundred High School and move students to Valley-Wetzel High School next school year. The plan would also close Paden City High School and move its students to Magnolia High School next year. Since Paden City also includes 7th and 8th graders, those students would be transferred to New Martinsville School.
“There are a couple of reasons behind this, declining enrollment in our school system as a whole and not enough certified teachers in the classroom. We have students taking virtual classes as we speak,” said Porter in a conversation with MetroNews after the board’s decision.
Wetzel County’s situation is not unique to the Mountain State. Porter said from what she can tell there are 22 schools being proposed for consolidation all across the state this year. She believed it was a statewide issue.
The state required plan of action has been formulated and posted for public review on the school systems website. According to Porter, It explained the reason for the consolidation proposal. The difficulty now comes in the public hearings the board is required to hold in the attendance area of each affected school.
“We definitely have people on both sides who want us to do things differently and provide more opportunities for their kids, but we also have people who are very tied to their high schools and small towns and want to see that remain as well,” she explained.
Porter has already taken a lot of heat for an effort earlier this year to close down Paden City High School. She ordered the school closed in the summer out of safety concerns for a Superfund Cleanup site at the campus. The closing was not recommended by the US EPA which is monitoring the contamination and raised no concerns for student health. Porter indicated at the time she wanted to take no chances and issued an emergency order to close the school. The order however was reversed by a Circuit Judge and the school was allowed to open this year.
Porter anticipated a lot of push back on the consolidation plan as well.
“Everyone is affected and people from each district have come to voice their concerns and opinions. At the end of the day, as Superintendent of Schools I have to look out for every single student,” she said.
Porter added there are currently inequities in the county’s four high schools and this would be a way to address the efforts to give each student the same opportunities.
“By doing this we want to equal the playing field and make sure all of our students have every opportunity possible,” she said.