Making the tough decisions to move Harrison Schools forward

Such was the case at West Virginia University, where despite the hue and cry from some faculty, staff and students, the school has emerged better positioned to serve the students moving into the future. That’s because its board and leadership looked forward and remained committed to a better future.

We are now seeing it play out in public school systems, where a number of counties are having to transfer or terminate personnel because the funds are no longer available to cover the rising costs. We’re seeing it in Marion, Lewis and Mason counties, among others across the state.

Some like to lay blame with the state’s school-funding system, which was court-ordered back in 1982 to try to equalize funding across the state. It’s complex — difficult to understand even for educators — but does seemingly accomplish the task. There are arguments on both sides on whether enough money is allocated, but it is equal.

Others blame the ending of pandemic-era federal money, which helped to boost support personnel in an effort to offset lost learning for students.

There’s truth to both arguments.

Regardless of the reason, school systems are facing a myriad of challenges: Not as many students and less funding are the obvious ones, but added to that is the challenge of finding qualified teachers, especially in more challenging courses, as well as many systems dealing with older buildings.

Such is the case in Harrison County, where the Board of Education will vote Tuesday on whether to move forward on the closings of five schools and the consolidation/merger into three.

After three nights of hearings for the six affected schools, which drew less than 100 speakers combined, board members will need to weigh the system’s struggles with the issues above with public sentiment.

But Tuesday’s decisions really can’t come down to sentiment, or even the hope that enrollment trends will change. The data shows a steady decline of enrollment over the past 10 years. It shows that all of the accepting schools have room to handle the consolidations.

Here’s a look at the facts:

— Robert C. Byrd High, which would accept the students if Liberty High is closed, can easily handle the 425-430 students expected from Liberty. Byrd was built for about 1,200 and would have less than 1,100. That’s only if all students stay in the system and don’t transfer to another school. And enrollment patterns show that the new merged school would likely end up with about 1,000 students.

— Washington Irving Middle, which is set to close with board approval and merge with Mountaineer Middle into what is now Liberty High, is in desperate need of a new facility. It’s over 100 years old. By closing these two schools and merging them, you would end up with a school of a little less than 900 that will likely be closer to 850 in the first year or two.

— The closure of Mountaineer provides the school system with a modern facility to retrofit for elementary use, moving North View and Salem students into a school of about 450 at current enrollment numbers. For those who argue they don’t like big elementary schools, the new school would not be as large as the two elementary schools in Bridgeport, or the two in Nutter Fort, as well as Big Elm in Shinnston.

— North View Elementary is in its 100th year of use. Board members and officials have said it’s not in good shape. And there is not the money on the local or state level to do the type of repair necessary, especially when there are newer alternatives readily available.

— As for the argument that Salem isn’t that old (about 50 years) or in bad shape, both are correct. However, the building is one of the most underutilized with only about 185 students in a structure built for more than two times that.

The consolidation plan the board will consider stems from a clear need for change to set the system on the right path for a better future. It isn’t designed to hurt communities. It’s designed to help students.

The board asked Superintendent Dora Stutler to come up with a plan, which they supported unanimously back in October to begin the process. The same five board members will now have to vote on each closing, consolidation and merger.

Ultimately, that’s the responsibility of the Board of Education’s five members, to set the course for what will be the best possible school system for the students while conforming to available funds.

The Board of Education isn’t responsible for building communities or economic development in a direct sense. The service of providing a great education system should boost those entities naturally, that is if the communities and development sector are properly prepared to carry out their part.

The five board members have a fiscal responsibility to address the obvious problems of declining enrollment and with it declining revenue, as well as the fact that all of these facilities, with the exception of WI Middle, are underutilized.

Those were the facts when the board voted unanimously, 5-0, to begin this process back in October. And while they have been faced with some pushback from some in affected communities, there appears to be a broader countywide understanding that something must be done to address these challenges.

Waiting, delaying or ignoring the issues won’t make them go away and will only exacerbate the problems moving ahead.

There appear to be no other viable solutions. A school bond hasn’t passed in more than 30 years. And now that they have to be held during regular elections, that isn’t likely to change.

Nor is the state doling out money to fix antiquated schools that are underutilized.

These five board members aren’t directly responsible for the problems, which are inherent in a state and region of declining population and school enrollment.

But they will be complicit to future issues if they don’t vote to move the system forward. If not consolidation, then employee layoffs and program cuts will have to be considered as we’re seeing in other counties.