Wood County BOE looks at closure hearings for September, October

PARKERSBURG -- Wood County Schools has announced tentative dates for school closure and consolidation hearings on three schools and four other affected buildings.

Two schools not included in that list are Van Devender Middle School and Franklin Elementary School, both of which will remain open in the coming year.

At Tuesday's Wood County Board of Education meeting, Superintendent Will Hosaflook announced tentative dates and times for seven closure and consolidation hearings. Hosaflook said he will present the list for approval at the Aug. 21 Wood County Board of Education meeting.

"These are just proposals," Hosaflook said. "You five will have to vote on the proposal."

Hosaflook said he will propose public hearings for the three schools to be closed — Waverly, Worthington and McKinley elementary schools — and all affected schools which will receive students. The tentative dates are:

∫ Sept. 30: Waverly Elementary, 5 p.m., at the school.

∫ Oct. 1: Williamstown High/Middle School, 5 p.m.; Williamstown Elementary School, 7:30 p.m. Both hearings would be held at the high school.

∫ Oct. 2: Worthington Elementary School, 5 p.m.; Emerson Elementary School, 7:30 p.m., each at their respective schools.

∫ Oct. 3: McKinley Elementary, 5 p.m.; Jefferson Elementary Center, 7:30 p.m., each at their respective schools.

"These are tentative dates," Hosaflook said. "We could hit a snag and have to push everything back, but this is the schedule I would like to follow."

The board will be able to vote on the school plan at the end of the last hearing, he said. If following the hearings the board would approve the consolidation and merger plans, Hosaflook said he would present an amendment to the district's facility plan in late November or early December to the West Virginia Board of Education.

Both Franklin and Vandy were mentioned in earlier conversations about closure and consolidation, but officials decided logistical issues would make it difficult if not impossible to move Franklin students to other south Parkersburg elementary schools next year.

Hosaflook said Tuesday Vandy would not be scheduled for closure and consolidation next year because the district's northern middle schools would be nearly at capacity if Vandy's 380 students were to be sent to other schools.

Business owner Fred Clark spoke during public comment, urging the board to reconsider closing Waverly Elementary. Though Clark lives in Parkersburg, he has a Waverly-based business, grew up in Waverly and has grandchildren that attend the school.

Clark said while he was sympathetic to the need for fiscal responsibility, he believes closing Waverly would actually cost the school system more money in the future.

"The school is in good operating condition," he said. "There is going to be continued growth in the county in that area. Waverly is the only elementary school in the northeastern third of the county."

Clark said closing Waverly also will lead the school system to purchase more buses, run more miles, and will lead to longer bus rides for students, potentially violating state law concerning the amount of time students can be on a bus.

Clark said Waverly should not be marked for closure.

"Waverly may be on that list eventually, but not now," he said.

In other business, the board Tuesday approved an amended policy governing Wood County Board of Education meetings. The change moves the meeting start time back half an hour to 6 p.m. Officials said the change was requested by several people over the months and are intended to allow more participation in the meeting process.

The change is considered immediate, and regular meetings will be held at 6 p.m. the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month.

The board approved a special meeting for 10 a.m. Aug. 9 to present personnel changes ahead of the new school year. Students return to class Aug. 15, and Hosaflook said Aug. 9 is the last day for changes concerning positions which directly affect students.

Michael Erb can be reached at merb@newsandsentinel.com