Kanawha County Board of Education considering closing six schools

KANAWHA COUNTY, WV (WOWK) — Six Kanawha County schools are on the chopping block as the county board of education is looking to close and consolidate them.

Kanawha County Schools Superintendent Dr. Tom Williams spoke to the board on Tuesday about the facility consolidations.

Here’s what they are looking to do:

• East Bank Middle School students moving to DuPont Middle School
• McKinley Middle School students moving to Hayes Middle School
• Mary Ingles Elementary School, Belle Elementary School, Malden Elementary School and Midland Trail Elementary School closing and building a new elementary school

Dr. Williams said the option of consolidating the four elementary schools would allow him to apply for SBA funding to build a new, larger building for the larger number of students in the old DuPont Jr. High field, which the district owns.

Dr. Williams said consolidation is never a fun topic, but due to budgetary reasons, they’ve been speaking for two years on consolidation. He says funding is on a per-pupil basis, and when the school system loses students they lose funding, and consolidation helps to combat those lost funds. There has been a 15% decrease in student enrollment over 10 years.

He also says that consolidation will allow the school district to upgrade and modernize school facilities in the coming years.

One Kanawha County resident, David Peters, spoke out against the idea, saying he isn’t sure how putting more students in one classroom could make the school more successful. He said the kids need more one-on-one opportunities to help them learn.

Peters was not the only resident to speak against consolidation. Kanawha County resident Michael Woody said he agreed with Peters that schools that have previously consolidated do not have high test scores. He said consolidating the schools could have a negative impact on the students’ educations.

Woody not only would it increase the number of students in a classroom, it would force students to have longer bus rides if their school is the one that closes.

Back in 2023, three elementary schools were closed and consolidated: Grandview , Marmet and Weimer . All three were closed at the end of the 2023-2024 school year .

These students were transferred to different schools. Grandview students went to Mary C. Snow and Edgewood, Weimer was split between Alban and Bridgeview Elementary, and Marmet transferred three miles away to Chesapeake.

According to a report written in May 2023, the district lost around 4,400 students in the last 10 years, which is a decrease of 15%.

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