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PARKERSBURG -- A Kanawha Circuit Court judge has denied a request for a preliminary injunction to keep Waverly Elementary School open for the 2020-21 school year.
Attorney Aaron Boone with law firm Bowles Rice represented the Wood County Board of Education in a series of hearings before Kanawha Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Bailey.
Boone said Monday after about three days of testimony, Bailey ruled the plaintiff had not met the factors for an injunction. Those factors include the chance of success for a lawsuit, harm to the community and harm to the county.
The injunction would have kept the school open for the coming school year, Boone said.
Fred Clark, corporate secretary for IVS Group, which owns IVS Hydro in Parkersburg and Waverly, has been one of the lead voices in the Save Waverly School campaign and filed the lawsuit on behalf of several Waverly parents. Clark is a Waverly native and has family members who attend the school.
Clark could not immediately be reached for comment Monday.
Boone said it will be up to the plantiff to decide what the next step would be and whether it would head to trial. Bailey is expected to issue her findings this week, Boone said.
Wood County Board of Education President Rick Olcott declined to comment and directed questions to Boone.
Michael Erb can be reached at merb@newsandsentinel.com