Kanawha County (West Virginia) board votes to close middle school

McKinley Middle School is one of two middle schools that the Kanawha County (West Virginia) school board has voted to close.

For the second consecutive night, the Kanawha County (West Virginia) school board has voted to close a middle school as part of the district's consolidation plan.

WSAZ-TV reports that in a 5-0 vote, board members approved the consolidation of McKinley Middle in St. Albans into Hayes Middle School, also in St. Albans.

That vote followed a 3-2 decision the night before in favor of consolidating East Bank Middle in East Bank into Dupont Middle.

School Board President Ric Cavander said, “I think you heard every board member tonight say ‘this is never an easy decision,’ but we do have to weigh the costs associated with that very carefully because we were elected to be the stewards of the public’s tax dollars.”

Superintendent Tom Williams said a decrease in student enrollment prompted talks of consolidation.

“I don’t like making these recommendations, but when we continue to lose population, we just don’t have a choice,” Williams said.

The Kanawha County school district is closing East Bank Middle School.

Earlier: The Kanawha County (West Virginia) School Board has voted to close East Bank Middle School in East Bank and consolidate it into Dupont Middle School in Malden.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that the 3-2 vote in favor of closing East Bank came despite the vocal opposition of those attending the meeting.

About 300 people attended the board meeting. Many wore their school's colors, including members of the football team who also carried signs that read "#BacktheBank" and "save our school."

After the vote, board member Jim Crawford said that he carefully considered the facts before deciding to support the consolidation.

"None of us like to make these difficult decisions," Crawford said in an email. "But it’s something we must do.

"Our 10-year CEFP [Comprehensive Educational Facilities Plan], which the State requires, has identified the Riverside High School Attendance Area as being the area with low quality and utilization of buildings. With all of the data submitted, I felt like this was a difficult, but necessary decision that is consistent with our current and past CEFPs."

Before the vote, speakers raised concerns about the effects of a closure: the length of bus rides, the age of Dupont Middle School's facilities, East Bank students' access to extracurriculars and school-based services, and the effects of consolidation on students' mental health and academics.

One of the speakers, Betty Jarvis, read a joint statement from state Sens. Mike Stuart and Rupie Phillips:

"Although consolidation may come with an immediate cost savings, we are substantially concerned about the long-term cost to critical but challenged communities and to our students short and long-term interests....Closing East Bank does nothing but further hasten community decline."

East Bank Mayor Chuck Blair also criticized the lack of input, calling it a "slap in the face" that he was not consulted or included in the school board's consolidation plans.

East Bank will close at the end of this school year, and East Bank students will start at Dupont at the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year.