Mary Ingles Elementary latest school to be closed by county board

The Kanawha Board of Education voted to close Mary Ingles Elementary School, off Campbells Creek Dr. near the community of Tad, Oct. 17.Photo byGMSV

BELLE, W.Va. -- Mary Ingles Elementary, a relatively rural school near the upper Kanawha Valley community of Tad, has become the latest school to fall victim to ongoing closures within Kanawha County Schools.

County Board of Education members voted 5-0 on Thursday to shutter the school once a new elementary is built on property in DuPont City, approximately seven miles away.

Mary Ingles is the fourth school – and the second elementary – to be closed by board members within the past two weeks. The panelists voted to shutter East Bank Middle School, McKinley Middle School and Belle Elementary School earlier this month.

Thursday’s vote followed a public closure hearing at Riverside High School, where a handful of speakers pleaded with board members to keep Mary Ingles open.

School officials cite a population decline, and a subsequent decrease in school enrollment and state funding, as factors in the school closures.

Documents provided by Kanawha County Schools suggest Mary Ingles Elementary lost 55 students between the 2013-14 and 2022-23 school years. That amounts to a 29 percent decline in the school’s overall enrollment.

Members of the Kanawha County Board of Education listen to a speaker at Thursday's school closure hearing for Mary Ingles Elementary School.Photo byKanawha County Schools

To save on overhead and other costs, school officials have proposed consolidation at Mary Ingles Elementary and five other county schools.

Board members voted to send East Bank Middle School students to DuPont Middle School beginning with the 2025-26 school year. They also decided to send McKinley Middle School students to Hayes Middle School beginning next academic year.

Officials have suggested combining four elementary schools -- Belle Elementary, Mary Ingles Elementary, Malden Elementary and Midland Trail Elementary – into a new, yet-to-be-built building in DuPont City. Board members have already voted to close Belle Elementary and Mary Ingles Elementary, but Malden Elementary and Midland Trail Elementary will not face closure hearings until next week.

During Tuesday’s closure hearing for Belle Elementary, school representatives presented mockups of what the new elementary school could look like. The designs were available for viewing at Thursday’s hearing for Mary Ingles as well.

Administrators stress that the designs are merely conceptual, and note that no formal blueprints will be developed until funding for the new school is received.

Kanawha County Schools made a funding request with the state School Building Authority (SBA) earlier this year. The SBA is expected to make its decision by December 2024.

If approved, the new elementary would not open until at least the 2028-29 school year, officials said. That means Belle Elementary and Mary Ingles Elementary students would remain in their respective schools until that time.

Two more closure hearings – one for Malden Elementary on Monday, Oct. 21, and another for Midland Trail Elementary on Tuesday, Oct. 22 -- are planned for next week. Both hearings will take place at 6 p.m. at Riverside High School, 1 Warrior Way in Belle.

Michael Ramsburg is a Kanawha County communities reporter. He can be reached at ramsburgreports@gmail.com or by calling 304-370-3067.