President of West Virginia’s American Federation of Teachers speaks on Kanawha County school consolidations

KANAWHA COUNTY, WV — Parents, students and staff asked plenty of questions Wednesday after Tuesday’s proposal to close six Kanawha County Schools.

Part of that proposal would combine two St. Albans middle schools into one building. It’s still early to tell exactly how the increased number of students will look in practice but the possibility of increased class sizes is becoming a concern for educators and families.

Hayes Middle School has over 400 students enrolled and McKinley, which would feed into Hayes if the consolidation goes through, has about 300 students enrolled. While the details of specific grades and subjects are not available, some worry that almost doubling the size of the student body could potentially throw off the ratio of students and teachers.

“It could increase class size and we’re never for increasing class size. That’s not the optimum choice. We want smaller class sizes not larger class sizes,” said Fred Albert, President of American Federation of Teachers West Virginia.

Albert also explained that he believes this could not have been an easy choice for anyone and that this may be difficult for all involved parties.

Some Hayes Middle School parents said they saw the closures coming themselves, and they are not surprised by the announcement.

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