In this March 12, 2020, file photo, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice speaks during a press conference at the State Capitol in Charleston, W.Va. Gov. Justice on Tuesday, April 21, 2020, closed schools statewide for the rest of the year over concerns about the coronavirus. (AP Photo)

CHARLESTON — Schools across West Virginia will remain physically closed for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year to continue slowing the spread of the novel coronavirus, the governor announced on Tuesday.

“I hate this like crazy,” Gov. Jim Justice said during his daily coronavirus briefing at the Capitol. “I have promised you over and over and over that I would not put you in a position that could be harmful, and I would try to protect you in every way, especially our kids…the last thing I would do is put our kids in harm’s way.”

Justice said distance learning and feeding programs would continue, but opening school buildings this year will not happen. Schools have been closed since March 13 and were slated to re-open April 30.

“I’ve thought really hard and I’ve tried in every way to hopefully be able to go back to school, because I know how much the kids would appreciate it. I can’t imagine the excitement of the kids going back and seeing their friends, their teachers, and all the goodness that would come of that. The ability to bring closure to that has really puzzled our kids in a lot of different ways.”

Clayton Burch, acting state superintendent of schools, said Tuesday the decision to keep schools closed was not lightly taken. According to Education Week, West Virginia joins 34 other states who have closed schools for the remainder of the school year. West Virginia’s decision follows the closure announced by Ohio Gov. Mike Dewine on Monday.

“We came to the realization that it was going to be really tough. Decisions of that magnitude are really, really difficult to make,” Burch said. “Our school systems are ready. We believe that our children, all 260,000 of them in public school, are being supported by our system.”

Burch said remote learning would remain in place for the rest of the school year, meals would continue to be provided and a task force was being created to address how to handle high school graduations. Justice encouraged schools to find ways to hold graduation ceremonies even if that meant holding them later in the summer.

“Absolutely, we need to graduate our seniors and celebrate their accomplishments,” Justice said. “I urge each and every school to try to find a place through the course of the summer to where we can bring back those graduates and we can absolutely let them walk across the stage, receive their diplomas and absolutely celebrate their accomplishment.”

“It’s really important that we acknowledge and do everything we can for the senior class of 2020,” Burch said. “We want to make this graduation special. We also want to make it seamless as they transition into post-secondary education.”

Burch said the College Board has stepped forward to make sure there are no gaps for children taking the advanced placement exams by offering free, online classes and take-at-home exams. The West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission is helping students complete their dual-credit courses and the state Community and Technical College System is working to make sure students can finish their courses.

Burch also said virtual summer school would be free for students that need help transitioning to college. For high school juniors, the College Board and the state will offer students who missed the free SAT to take it for free in the Fall.

“We have a great plan in place for our children to support them for the rest of the school year,” Burch said. “These decisions were not taken lightly. We have a system that is ready to support our children. I just can’t thank enough the administrators, the teachers, the school service personnel, the school nurses, our superintendents, our local county boards of education. The sheer number of caring adults that stepped forward to make sure every decision made was in the best interests of our school children has been absolutely impressive.”